The Miami Heat’s All-Star Dwayne Wade made a statement earlier this week that NBA players should be paid to play in the Olympics. He caught a lot of heat for that statement and back-peddled defensively, retracting his statement, doing a complete 180 degree slam of his earlier statement that could have won him a dunk contest on the ability to change direction so quickly. Before for I go any further, I would like to say I don’t like the Heat since LeBron joined the team but I have always liked Dwayne Wade and I consider him one of the league’s best and he appears to be a good guy as well, never getting in trouble other than this stupid statement. He has never brought a gun to a game, got arrested, fathered 27 illegitimate kids but he did shoot his mouth off disrespecting our country in the process.
This situation shows us that no matter how good the athlete is they can all succumb, even temporarily to the entitlement mentality of a lot of pro athletes. His statement had a pampered whine to it that could have gotten Wade a Gerber’s endorsement for it’s baby-like qualities. How dare he want to get paid to represent our country when other Olympic athletes struggle to economically survive during training for the hope of success in the Olympics to maybe get endorsements later on that compensate them in a way that is a small percentage compared to Wade’s NBA contract. You should be proud to represent your country and not ask for money to do it especially when it is just an extension of your day job and the Olympics helps build your brand for your day job which will get you additional compensation in the future. That request for payment is a slap in the face to our men and women in the military that represent our country for minimal pay and risk their lives doing it. I guess Wade could make the argument that he is chased nightly by five black guys which could be perceived as dangerous in any other situation other than playing in the NBA.
This is why we should never have allowed the Pros to play in the Olympics. This was bound to happen when we opened the door to them and their sense of me, me, me not USA, USA, USA. I know other countries have done it longer than the U.S. but since the first Dream Team, the Olympics has lost their specialness when it was just for amateurs, no more “Do you Believe in Miracles” moments. I think we should go back and just let our college players represent us, win or lose and give some players an opportunity of a lifetime especially if they have no shot of ever playing in the NBA.
Wade was trying to make the argument that the Olympics made money off his Jersey sales which he fails to realize those proceeds go to fund other Olympic programs. He probably has a legitimate beef and could go after a percentage of the bribes the Olympic Committee receives from potential host cities though.
Nobody is forcing Wade to do this which makes this even crazier especially coming off a shortened NBA Lockout Season. Like I said before I like Dwayne Wade but this statement even though he retracted it tarnished his image in my eyes and if he is hurting for money which I doubt with the size of his NBA contract, living in a Florida (a state with no state income tax), and I’m sure he got paid well in college too but if all that isn’t enough he can always marry a Kardashian and get paid extra for doing nothing. Remember Dwayne, it is USA, USA, USA, not Get Me Paid, Get Me Paid, Get Me Paid!