not really, but the Olympic committee has done something i find very unusual. there is a kid who grew up here in Grand Rapids, MI. he now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers and he has emerged as one of the better centers in the NBA. <br><br>well, he is playing for German in the Olympics. is he German? you decide . . . <br><br>he had never visited Germany until he joined the team to tryout this summer.<br><br>he doesn't speak any German.<br><br>his parents weren't born in Germany.<br><br>his grandparents weren't born in Germany.<br><br>his great grandparents were born in Germany (at least one set).<br><br>he has said he really never considered himself to be of German decent. <br><br>but the Olympic committee approved Germany giving him a passport. does that seem right?<br><br>--<br>[color:red] Kansas Jayhawks -- 2008 National Champions </font color=red>

Unless he's a German citizen, no.<br><br>I don't think anyone should be allowed to play for a country unless they're a citizen of that country.<br><br><br>Hey I'm an F'n Jerk!®

This is just another nail in the casket containing the corpse of all the good things sports could be.<br><br>I'm not much of a sporto by any stretch—never have been. But I surely see the value in the good things it can teach. Healthy, active living, good sportsmanship, grace and power under pressure and loss. These are life lessons that sports are equipped to teach deeply, and are lessons that all well-balanced humans should learn. When do we form our foundation in these concepts? When we are children.<br><br>But how in the world can these things be taught and reinforced to the people who need the lessons and who would benefit from them most—children—when they are constantly bombarded with news about steroids, cheating, and rule-bending-as-justification-for-winning-at-any-cost? How does a parent, a coach, a community expect kids to understand the value of those concepts when ultimate success and achievement seems so bound up in directly contradicting them?<br><br>Quite frankly, very little outside of abuse of the helpless and malicious political machinations disgusts me more.<br><br>"This is not here."

I no longer watch any Olympic sports. The IOC is corrupt, many of the athletes dirty. It's been all about politics, bribes and money for some time. These Chinese Olympic games take the cake. They are a joke.<br><br>

So, if this is Germany cheating, what's the kid doing? Besides not playing for the USA. He could've taken a pass. I don't know sports outside of baseball, but if he plays with the NBA, isn't he a pro? I thought the Olympics were non-pro.<br><br>Anyway, it all is pretty much worthless today, like phos points out, but I don't see blaming Germany. You know, unless they brain washed this "kid."<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>[color:white]xx</font color=white>[color:blue]I always deserve it. Really.</font color=blue><br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p> German's already cheating in Olympics <p><hr></blockquote><p> followed up with this<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>not really<p><hr></blockquote><p>the point of my post was to point fingers at the IOC, fwiw. i was just hoping to get eck's attention. <br><br>--<br>[color:red] Kansas Jayhawks -- 2008 National Champions </font color=red>

1992 was when the olympics started officially allowing professionals to play -- that was when the Dream Team won the Olympics in dramatic fashion (Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, etc.). some would argue that many countries had their pros playing for a very long time prior to this as some countries had full time paid athletes competing on the State's dime.<br><br>--<br>[color:red] Kansas Jayhawks -- 2008 National Champions </font color=red>

Sorry. I'll seek penance in another cup of coffee. Obviously, I need it. <br><br>But the whole thing is just another example of how worthless the whole Olympic thing has become. Sad, because when we were little, it was something we had a lot of respect for. <br><br>Oh, and good luck with the baiting. If you'd just titled your thread "Germany's already cheating but Obama will straighten them out" it might have worked. <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>[color:white]xx</font color=white>[color:blue]I always deserve it. Really.</font color=blue><br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>some would argue that many countries had their pros playing for a very long time prior to this as some countries had full time paid athletes competing on the State's dime.<p><hr></blockquote><p>Yeap, that's been my beef all along...<br>While I think it's deplorable to use Pro Players;<br>there was no mistaking that the Communist Block Countries<br>were selecting housing, feeding, training, educating and ferKrySake <br>even BREEDING athletes (Post Retirement) for "The State"...<br><br>How could young people living any kind of "normal" lifestyle<br>ever hope to compete against young people that cut their teeth with<br>the aid of PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS, DIETITIANS and so forth? <br><br><br><br>[color:green]"...or am I a butterfly that's dreaming she's a woman?"</font color=green> <br>

This has become 'standard' practice in international sports, not just for an event such as the Olympics. It's done in ice hockey (half of the Swiss national team is from the US or Canada), and it's done especially in soccer, where the Germans had two Polish-born players in their national team. A third of the French national soccer team consisted of players who were born Africa ( in former French-speaking colonies). <br>There are too many other examples to list here.<br> Presently, Chris Kaman is playing for the German national team. Chris is from Wyoming, doesn't speak a word of German, has lived in the US all his life. [color:blue]<br> "Kaman, declared a German citizen and presented with a passport per the request of its Olympic federation, doesn't speak German and had never visited the country until this experience. He also never met his German-born great-grandparents, who passed away long ago."<br>"The Olympic Charter's Rule 42 declares team members must be "a national" of the country. International Olympic Committee media representatives said individual nations decide citizenship."</font color=blue><br>So, is Chris "German"? <br>Well, he is now a German national ! <br>He has the passport to prove it.<br>And that's all it takes.<br><br><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/880h_YJ5ZDU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/880h_YJ5ZDU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br><br><br>[color:blue][/b]Hodie mihi. Cras tibi.</font color=blue>[/b]