tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37388994.post849651934928564760..comments2024-01-13T00:38:28.549-08:00Comments on Southern California Aquatics SCAQ Swim Club: The IOC is suddenly pro-gambling for Olympic events!Tony Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00109365938555421509noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37388994.post-57380120241628124462011-03-01T10:05:45.303-08:002011-03-01T10:05:45.303-08:00Governing bodies generally use a bait and witch mi...Governing bodies generally use a bait and witch mission statement so as to bamboozle the athlete and then leverage their talents for money.<br /><br />Here is the bait: "Be the best in the world and represent your country and the Olympic ideals of peace and harmonious alignment to make this world a better place."<br /><br />The switch: "Oh well, there is still war and poverty so let's instead leverage your belief in those silly "go team" nationalistic ideals morals of yours and make a ton of money off the sweat of your labor and leverage any sort of revenue option we can grab! :-pTony Austinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00109365938555421509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37388994.post-44877323180560132872011-03-01T09:53:33.236-08:002011-03-01T09:53:33.236-08:00Glenn - What you said!!! Absolutely!!
One the uni...Glenn - What you said!!! Absolutely!!<br /><br />One the unintended consequences of the athelet's pay-scales in the "big" sports - baseball, American football, football, basketball, etc. - is that those sports are, for the most part, free of match fixing scandals. It's tough to bribe someone making $6.0 million a year, let alone $30.0 million!<br /><br />You'll note most of the match fixing issues in the sports I've mentioned above occur with the referees because they are not as well paid.<br /><br />Betting on Olympic swimming, where the athletes make, for the most part, barely a living wage and where the bets can be in the millions is a recipe for absolute disaster. Should this go forward, the match fixing / race fixing scandal is a when, not if.TedBakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37388994.post-91433183229526797892011-03-01T05:19:22.905-08:002011-03-01T05:19:22.905-08:00"Instead of pretending the gambling does not ..."Instead of pretending the gambling does not exist, give the sports and the teams a piece of the billions of dollars that are being wagered on their games. Regulation is also needed to ensure integrity within a game."...<br /><br />Replace "gambling" with "steroids". <br /><br />Sure, I may be reaching here, but can they really believe this is a good idea to protect the integrity of the Olympic Games? Do they really believe that this doesn't open up the potential for race, competition fixing? If the IOC, the USOC, USA Swimming don't figure out a way to pay the athletes... do they really think the gamblers won't figure out a way? <br /><br />Treat athletics strictly from business terms, and you' open up the potential for corruption, greed, and problems that come with business. There needs to be a mix of business and some moral standards that should be higher than anywhere else... not just falling to the lowest common denominator just because someone else is doing it.Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979127306262635607noreply@blogger.com