One of the most covered stories about the upcoming Olympics is who’s not competing in Paris. WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark has been left off the Team USA roster in favor of more veteran talent, like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi.
But a generation ago, none of these women would have been allowed to compete at the Olympics. Neither would Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and the rest of the men’s team. Nor would golfers Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy.
These athletes are paid professionals and it wasn’t long ago the Olympics barred pro athletes from participating.
Point phone camera here
The age of amateurism
When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formed in 1894 to bring back the Olympic Games, it built the modern foundation on amateurism, a word derived from the Latin word for “lover.” The argument was that amateur athletes competed for the love of the sport, not money.
Former IOC President Avery Brundage claimed the “amateur code” prevented the Olympics from being “used by individuals, organizations or nations for ulterior motives.” Leaders of the Olympic movement would point back to the tradition of the ancient Games but the concept of amateurism was somewhat of a misnomer.
“They weren’t amateurs, they were supported in their training,” Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said. “If they won, even in the ancient Games, they’d never have to pay for a drink again for the rest of their lives.”
For Wallechinsky, Olympic fandom was in his blood. His father, author Irving Wallace, brought him to the 1960 Rome Olympics when Wallechinsky was 12 years old.
“I got to see the opening ceremony, a couple of events, and so I became hooked,” Wallechinsky said. “I wanted to read a book that had all the results and all the best stories and it didn’t exist. So I spent 2.5 years creating it.”
In 1984, Wallechinsky published the first edition of “The Complete Book of the Olympics,” which has served as a favorite reference book on the subject ever since.
Jim Thorpe’s amateurism controversy
Jim Thorpe, considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, is a prime example of the problem with amateurism. Thorpe swept gold in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in the decathlon and pentathlon, becoming the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.
Then in 1913, the IOC took away his medals for having previously played two summers of semi-pro baseball. Many other Olympic athletes had also played semi-pro baseball but weren’t penalized because they played under fake names. Thorpe’s crime was using his real name.
The athletes and host countries awarded gold in Thorpe’s place never accepted the results, insisting that Thorpe was the sole winner of these events.
The IOC eventually righted this wrong, reinstating Thorpe’s gold medals 70 years later and listing him as a co-winner. But he never lived to see that day as it happened decades after his death. It wasn’t until 110 years after the Olympics in question that he was reinstated as the sole winner of the decathlon and pentathlon.
Cheating the amateur code
Thorpe’s situation did not compel the IOC to ditch amateurism. The case to eventually allow professional athletes into the Olympics stretched for decades and involved nations continuing to skirt the rules.
The Soviet Union was one of the main offenders. Its athletes were state-sponsored and trained full time, despite claiming to be amateurs. Meanwhile, countries that followed the rules could only present students or true amateur athletes to compete against de facto professional athletes. The Soviet screen came to a head in the hockey rink, where they dominated against Canada and everyone else.
“Canada got really angry,” Wallechinsky said. “‘We’re the best country in the world at ice hockey, we’re sending amateurs and the Soviet Union is sending professionals.'”
The Canadian hockey team even boycotted the ’72 and ’76 Olympics over it. Then in 1980, the U.S. had its miracle on ice, beating those Soviet professionals with an amateur team.
“Finally, the IOC, sport by sport, went, ‘Okay, you can make money at the Olympics and still be in the Olympics,'” Wallechinsky said.
The Dream Team
The Dream Team marked the true death of amateurism in the Olympics. The 1992 Barcelona Games marked the first time NBA players could play in the Olympics and they did it with arguably the greatest sports team — of any sport — ever assembled.
The team included basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley. They won all eight games by an average of 44 points and coach Chuck Daly never called a single timeout.
The Dream Team helped grow the NBA’s popularity on a global stage. Three decades later, the WNBA is getting its moment.
With or without Caitlin Clark, in Paris, Team USA will strive for its eighth straight win, which would break the record for the most consecutive Olympic team victories in all Olympic sports. The women haven’t lost an Olympic game since 1992.
Tags: A’ja Wilson, Avery Brundage, Breanna Stewart, Caitlin Clark, David Wallechinsky, Diana Taurasi, Dream Team, IOC, Jayson Tatum, Jim Thorpe, Lebron James, NBA, Olympic Games, Olympics, Paris, Paris 2024, pga tour, Rory McIlroy, Russia, Scottie Scheffler, Soviet Union, Stephen Curry, Summer Games, WNBA
Simone Del Rosario: One of the most covered stories about the upcoming Olympics is who’s not competing in Paris.
WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark has been left off Team USA in favor of more veteran talent. Like A’ja Wilson. Breanna Stewart. Diana Taurasi, to name a few.
But a generation ago, none of these women would have been allowed to compete at the Olympics.
Neither would Steph Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and the rest of the men’s team.
Nor golfers Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy. I could go on but I’ll get to my point.
All of these athletes are paid professionals and it wasn’t that long ago the Olympics barred pro athletes from participating.
When the International Olympic Committee brought back the Olympic Games in 1894, they built the modern foundation on amateurism, a word literally derived from “lover.” The argument was that amateur athletes competed for the love of the sport, not money.
Former IOC president Avery Brundage claimed the “Amateur Code” prevented the Olympics from being “used by individuals, organizations or nations for ulterior motives.”
Leaders of the Olympic movement would point back to the tradition of the Ancient Games…but the concept of amateurism was somewhat of a misnomer.
David Wallechinsky: They weren’t amateurs, they were supported in their training. If they, you know, won, even in the ancient games, they never have to pay for a drink again for the rest of their lives.
Simone Del Rosario: Olympic Historian David Wallechinsky has been a fan of the games since he was a child.
David Wallechinsky: So my father was a big Olympics fan. And he brought me to the Olympics in Rome when I was 12 years old, I got to see the opening ceremony, a couple of events. And so I became hooked. I wanted to read a book that had all the results and all the best stories and it didn’t exist. So I spent two and a half years creating it.
Simone Del Rosario: One of those Olympic stories is that of Jim Thorpe, with whom Wallechinsky has an interesting family tie. His father ghost-wrote for Thorpe back in the day.
David Wallechinsky: Jim Thorpe was the greatest athlete in the 20th century. And he had won gold medals at the 1912 Olympics and had them taken away because he had played semi-pro baseball.
Simone Del Rosario: Jim Thorpe is a prime example of the problem with amateurism. The year after he swept gold in Stockholm in the decathlon and pentathlon, the IOC took away his medals for having previously played two summers of semi-pro baseball.
And here’s what’s ridiculous about that. Besides the fact that it’s not even the same sport.
Many other Olympic athletes played semi-pro baseball, but they weren’t penalized because they played under fake names. Thorpe’s crime was using his real one.
The IOC eventually righted that wrong, reinstating Thorpe’s gold medals. But he never lived to see it. It happened decades after his death.
Thorpe wasn’t the reason the Olympics finally relented and stopped ringing the amateurism bell. No, the move to allow pro athletes into the Olympics stretched decades and a lot of skirting the rules.
David Wallechinsky: You got the communist countries come in with in 1948, and then, you know, the Soviet Union 52. And they said, We don’t have professional athletes. (whistles for effect) They, they, you know, they’re all members of the army. Because all they did was compete in sports.
Simone Del Rosario: The Soviet screen came to a head on the hockey rink. Canada was furious! Well, as furious as Canadians get.
David Wallechinsky: Canada got really angry. We’re the best country in the world at ice hockey, we’re sending amateurs and the Soviet Union is sending professionals.
Simone Del Rosario: The Canadian hockey team even boycotted the ’72 and ’76 Olympics over it. Then in 1980, the U.S. had its miracle on ice, beating those Soviet professionals with an amateur team.
David Wallechinsky: Finally, the IOC sport by sport went okay, you can make money at the Olympics, and still be in the Olympics.
Simone Del Rosario: The Dream Team marked the true death of amateurism in the Olympics.
You have to know this one. It’s 1992 in Barcelona, the first time NBA players could play in the Olympics and they did it with arguably the greatest sports team – of any sport – ever assembled.
The team included little-known players Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and a whole roster of the best players in the world.
They won all eight games by an average of 44 points and coach Chuck Daly never called a single timeout.
The Dream Team helped grow the NBA’s popularity on a global stage. And three decades later, the WNBA is getting its moment.
With or without Caitlin Clark, in Paris, Team USA will strive for its eighth straight win, which would break the record for the most consecutive Olympic team victories in all Olympic sports.
The women haven’t lost an Olympic game since 1992.
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