Selling Out the Soul of the Olympic Games
The uproar over the IOC’s decision to cut wrestling from the Olympic games has continued for weeks. And it’s no wonder. There are many reasons why this decision hurts the Olympic brand and negatively affects millions of young athletes around the globe.
Eric Pearson, Chairman of the American Sports Council, explores these issues in the Daily Caller. He writes:
“The founder of the modern Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de DeCoubertin, valued participation above all. He said, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part.”DeCoubertin understood that in sports not only the winners win. There is an underlying social and educational benefit that athletes can take away from training and competing that is entirely different from the experience of the spectator. This is why sports like wrestling that don’t enjoy huge television contracts still have value to society. DeCoubertin’s Olympic creed is still relevant today and should not be thrown aside in the chase for television ratings and corporate sponsorship.”
Read the whole op-ed here. You don’t want to miss it!