"The Rime of the Modern Athlete - Money, money everywhere but not a penny to share!"

What if I told you that...

The chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee netted a base salary last year of $425,995 - [his final total was $638,407] - while his predecessor was paid $135,385 in 2010 for the final chapter of her tumultuous stint and the person who came before her got a $116,252 severance package, according to tax filings released Monday by the Colorado Springs-based organization. ..."

The Colorado Gazette [Link]

Then I told you that this $250-million-a-year organization paid their CEO less than the CEO of USA Swimming, Chuck Wielgus, who runs a $34-million-a-year organization and pulls in a compensation package of $731,500.

Would you think I was both angry and cynical if I said that?

Well, you should because I am! These are non profits and they are summarily enriching themselves rather than the athletes. The average national governing body chief makes $228,000-a-year. Wielgus makes more than triple that. [Link]

As for USA Swimming: The parents and athletes should ask themselves this, are they really getting their money's worth from their USA Swimming CEO because it is their money that is paying him. If not, is there really anything they can do about it?

Back to the USOC: The USOC spends more money on salaries & benefits than they they do on the following deliverables combined: Paralympic programs, anti-doping efforts, broadcast properties, communications, international relations, sports medicine, and sports science and technology. [Link]

The Olympics is apparently a dirty business and what I mean by dirty is that those in the front office make vasts amount of cash off the backs and the talents of the athletes at large while the talent has no recourse or right to profit-share in this patently greedy endeavor whatsoever. Are the Olympics really about togetherness and world harmony? Their mission statement certainly is but perhaps their management has a different goal?

The photo above is of the Berlin Olympic pool. Note that it is half empty or do you see it as half full?