ban qatar and bahrain!!!!!!!!!

[cacique]

bahrain and qatar should be banned from all international competition and the olympics.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08092009/ ... cials.html

their wholesale buying of athletes is a joke.

and while we are at it, ban saudi arabia (for not allowing women to compete).

[Marlow]

Re: ban qatar and bahrain

their wholesale buying of athletes is a joke.

Why shouldn't athletes sell their talents to the highest bidder? You can do that in every other business. Same goes for T&F. Track is essentially an individual sport and definitely a business.

[tandfman]

Track is an individual sport, but at major championships, athletes muist be entered by countries, unlike other individual sports like golf and tennis.

[croflash]

Re: ban qatar and bahrain

their wholesale buying of athletes is a joke.

Why shouldn't athletes sell their talents to the highest bidder? You can do that in every other business. Same goes for T&F. Track is essentially an individual sport and definitely a business.

I don't think switching nationalities is comparable to switching companies, sponsors, teams and so on.

[guruof track]

Re: ban qatar and bahrain

their wholesale buying of athletes is a joke.

Why shouldn't athletes sell their talents to the highest bidder? You can do that in every other business. Same goes for T&F. Track is essentially an individual sport and definitely a business.

I don't think switching nationalities is comparable to switching companies, sponsors, teams and so on.

\

Why not? Its all relative.

[bhall]

I'm not sure I'd say it is relative. But it sure feels like the difference between countries and corporations is more than a little blurred at this point.

[guruof track]

I'm not sure I'd say it is relative. But it sure feels like the difference between countries and corporations is more than a little blurred at this point.

What word would you use?

[bhall]

I wouldn't chose a word. I'd say what I did- the lines between countries and corporations are more than a little blurred at this point in history.

Saying "It's all relative" isn't concrete and doesn't do justice to the complexity of many situations or arguments, including this one.

[lonewolf]

Just MHO but when an athlete represents a country other than that of their birth, they ain't fooling nobody.
I have no quarrel with universites, professional teams or countries assembling a multi-national team in any sport but I don't know how any country can take nationalistic pride in an individual foreign born athlete and feel his/her performance somehow polishes the adopted country's apple.
Just MHO.

[catson52]

Just MHO but when an athlete represents a country other than that of their birth, they ain't fooling nobody.
I have no quarrel with universites, professional teams or countries assembling a multi-national team in any sport but I don't know how any country can take nationalistic pride in an individual foreign born athlete and feel his/her performance somehow polishes the adopted country's apple.
Just MHO.

I think a critical part may be when the athlete switches nationality, after reaching world class status, or on the way up. I haven't seen too many people objecting to Kipketer's running for Denmark. But then he did sit out an Oly for his principles, where most people think we would have won the gold medal. Reminds me of some universities, who boast of having Nobel Laureates, but inspection shows they were "bought" after they became famous.

[guruof track]

I didn't see a backlash against Felix Sanchez either. If someone CHOOSES to run for a country other than the one of their birth, whats the big deal?

[tandfman]

I think there is some distinction between athletes like Kipketer (who married a Danish woman and moved to Denmark), Sanchez (whose parents were Dominican), and Lagat (who came to the US to go to school and chose to stay here) on the one hand, and athletes who switch allegiance to countries to which they have had no previous ties of family, school, job, etc., whatsoever.

Also, many people believe that it is reasonable for corporations and universities to buy the best talent they can, but they don't feel quite the same about countries.

[guruof track]

I think there is some distinction between athletes like Kipketer (who married a Danish woman and moved to Denmark), Sanchez (whose parents were Dominican), and Lagat (who came to the US to go to school and chose to stay here) on the one hand, and athletes who switch allegiance to countries to which they have had no previous ties of family, school, job, etc., whatsoever.

Also, many people believe that it is reasonable for corporations and universities to buy the best talent they can, but they don't feel quite the same about countries.

Sanchez had no 'real' ties with DR. He had NEVER been to DR before he switched. The reason he switched because he was not sure he'd make a US team.

[cacique]

why can't bahrain and qatar use all of that money they have to develop their own domestic talent? the only athlete i can think of who was domestically developed is rakia al-gassra, who made some breakthroughs, but still not a major talent. all others are kenyan and ethiopian.

i am also rather cynical about sanchez. he was born and developed in the US schools system. he only chose to represent DR because it was easier.

[guruof track]

why can't bahrain and qatar use all of that money they have to develop their own domestic talent? the only athlete i can think of who was domestically developed is rakia al-gassra, who made some breakthroughs, but still not a major talent. all others are kenyan and ethiopian.

i am also rather cynical about sanchez. he was born and developed in the US schools system. he only chose to represent DR because it was easier.

Thats far from cynical.