buckeye125

I enjoy a healthy debate. That is what this forum is here for. With that said, I will try to reiterate my points more clearly.

Yes it does. The Olympic Spirit's mission is as follows:

"to build a peaceful and better world in the Olympic Spirit which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play"

I don't see how government policies that under-prepare kids for careers outside of their sport and exploiting their talent fits into the above stated olympic value system.

Furthermore, China is constantly under international scrutiny because it has one of the worst human rights records in the world. (Remember Tiananman Square? What about issues in Tiwan, Tibet, and Darfur? Do you know anything about the working conditions? Do a little research and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

1.) Cael Sanderson DID receive government money in the form of a tuition free college education at Iowa State University. This education not only allowed him to develop his athletic skills, but also enabled him to prepare for ANY career path that he desired. Now ask yourself, is it better to give a man a fish, or to teach him how to fish?

2.) His olympic Gold Medal DID open up additional financial opportunities, such as a shoe deal with Asics, other commercial product endorsements, and fee based speaking engagements.

3.) Cael Sandeson chose to make a career out of wrestling and coaching because HE WANTED TO, not because his choices were limited (refer back to #1.) Also, you shouldn't compare your situation in the USSR with this guy because you stated that you had a choice between club and sports school. You also chose to relocate to the USA. You don't know if the other guy had the same choices available or not. Based on the article, I have to assume that he did not.

4.)Your original point was that the NYT was making a Chinese athlete look bad for wanting to quit his sport. As I pointed out the first time, that just isn't true.

Cheers!

Big

I am sure this guy and all Chinese athletes follow Olympic spirit WHEN THEY COMPETE.

If the article said this guy was a high paid docotr and he wanted out but didn't know how to do anything else, would you feel bad for him? A sports coach is a fine career, as I am sure Cael Sanderson would acknowledge, so Chinese government prepares great athletes for good careers.

Sanderson's financial endorsements were not FROM THE GOVERNMENT.

This guy can quit anytime he wants. He knew what he was getting into. He is just after benefits now and my main point was that the Chinese system is a superior one to American system of preparing athletes and a very fair system despite what the article presents:

Officials refused to let Yang retire, even after he won Olympic gold in the C-2 500-meter race with Meng Guanliang at the Athens Games in 2004. He described how they had threatened to withhold his retirement payment if he did not compete through the Beijing Games.

Big

Its a clash between Western and Eastern philosophy and I think Eastern philosophy in this case is superior. Why?

The statistics show that lets say in wrestling the best athletes end up coaching so why even bother with college degrees people will never use?

This Chinese guy was an Olympic champ at 20 years old something Western philosophy is incapable of producing.

Big

Oh one more thing, sure this guy had a choice. Not every peasant in China is a professional athlete. He could choose to be a peasant like millions of other Chinese.

He could also train on his own without government support. He would never win but that was still his choice.

buckeye125

These will probably be my last few comments on this subject.

1.)I never said that Sanderson got product endorsements from the gov. I just pointed out that his gold medal helped him increase his financial opportunities within the US economic system.

2.)Personally, I do not think the article attacked Mr. Yang as you have suggested.

I don't have much more to say beyond this because each will interpret the article in his own way.

Peace!

Big

I don't think the article attacked Mr. Yang either. The article attacked the Chinese system, unfairly in my opinion.

matclone

There does seem to be a bit of anti-Chinese propaganda in the article--the general theme being that they are not free. Two things stick out as being maybe not true: (1) They refused (a favorite rhetorical term) to let him retire and required that he continue to compete. I don't know how you can make an athlete compete at a world level if his heart isn't in it. (2) Liver disease. I've never heard of a world-class athlete suffering from the effects of liver disease. I don't know how you be an world-class athlete if you're liver isn't in it.