he already made the sacrifice. And I didn't say he would get hurt but it would take a toll on his body. There is no way around that. He can't even finish a season what do you thin playing that many extra games would do to him.
The exposure Shaq would have given LSU by playing in the Olympics would be little to none. Probably about the same as Iverson to Georgetown and Duncan to Wake. I would bet that they mentioned someone's college once or less per player.
Who? http://www.nba.com/heat/multimedia/htv0405_shaqaclause_lo.html http://www.cnn.com/interactive/allpolitics/0410/gallery.off.topic/content.4.html http://www.brokenmasterpieces.com/archives/001307.html http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=shaq-a-clause http://www.google.com/search?q=st.+shaq&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&start=0&sa=N
Hell, who cares if the man didn't want to play in the Olympics? Nowhere does it say you have to play in the Olympics if invited. Sure, it may be an honor to some people, but it may not have been that big of a deal to him. You say there is more to life than the NBA. You're right about that one. But there is also more to life than basketball and the Olympics.
is it really that big of a deal? its nice, but its not like he's making a sacrifice. its like me dropping a quarter in the salvation army bucket. giving gifts to kids is nice too, but thats about it. its not like that is going to make much of a difference in their lives. who knows, maybe he's set up some scholarships or something---i'd bet not though, cause he would have told the press.
Sad. Easily one of the worst posts I've ever seen. The man is giving 1000x more of himself than other basketball players, and all you want to do is discredit it. In a world where athletes continually arbitrate (and hold out on) multi-million dollar salaries, it's very refreshing to see someone being so generous. He is taking time and effort to brighten the Christmas' of these unfortunate children. It's very nice of you to downplay it on the grounds that 'he could do more' or that you think he's not making a difference in anyones life. The bottom line is, he loves helping people. Oh, and it's not like 'you dropping a quarter in the salvation army bucket.' I'm not going to get into the intricacies of relative salaries and all that other nonsense. Shaq goes through these stores, picks out all the toys himself, and personally delivers them to the kids. That's a great deal more time than it takes you to drop a quarter in a bucket. It's also proabably a lot more time and effort than you've ever voluntarily committed to disadvantaged children. Further, if you are the only person to drop a quarter in that bucket, your 'sacrifice' doesn't seem so insignificant, does it? Compare that to the other NBA players who do this for children. It's also very nice of you to take a shot at him by suggesting that he seeks credit and praise for his kind works. Did you ever consider how many people admire Shaq? Someone brought up role models in this thread. How do you know that, by his actions being made public, he's not influencing others to be more generous? He very well may be. It's not like Shaq exactly needs the positive press. It ain't like Kobe or A.I. trying to save face. The world is already in love with him. Does he really need to go out of his way to make himself look better? Give me a break.
Nowhere did I say he was obligated to play in the Olympics. You're right, it's not that big of a deal to him, nor to you. Your last sentence is the reason why I am glad the 1980 Olympic hockey team cared enough to step up and represent this country despite people in this very country with that same indifferent attitiude.
You didn't say it, but it seemed like you implied it. As for the indifferent attitude, that's just for basketball. I apologize if I wasn't clear enough on that one. Perhaps I could have worded it better. I understand the honor and pride somebody can have when representing their country in the Olympics and I know it means a lot to a lot of athletes. But the basketball team we fielded in '04 was a complete joke that had no regard for what they were doing in Greece and frankly, I'm glad Shaq didn't associate himself with it. I agree that college players should play in the Olympics as opposed to NBA superstars. I'd rather see a team play hard and work together over a team that looks lazy and plays to see who can perform the best around the back dunk. To me, playing your heart out and getting nothing is 100 times better than being embarrassed, out-played, and out-classed and getting the Bronze.
Take for granted? I don't know, Shaq has represented this country before in the Olympics. I don't think a player should have to geaux everytime. The trouble with the USA mens basketball team is that I don't think pro players should play in the Olympics all the time. It was great with Magic,Bird, Barkley, Jordon and all those guys representing the country but lets face it, some of the pro players of today don't quite have the drive or determination that those players did, just maybe they aren't quite as good as them either. You have some spoiled pro players going to play in the Olympics these days and its just another gig if you know what I mean. I really believe some of the players on that team last year could care less about the Olympics and why would Shaq want to play with some of the players on that team when they are pretty much like Kobe, attitudes and ball hogs. I'm for the college players and amateurs playing basketball and other sports, that also keeps the dream alive for kids that won't make the NBA, they will have a final shot at representing their country, what an honor and a dream. I don't like pros playing for this reason, the only exception was that Jordon, Bird dream team.
