Posted by Editormum on 15 August 2008 in
News Commentary |
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So what about this Swedish wrestler? (Story) I thought the Olympics was all about good sportsmanship. Guess I was mistaken. Apparently we Americans haven’t cornered the market on bad manners after all.
He got the medal, interrupted the award for the next medalist to shake hands, and then walked off the podium, pulling his own medal off and dropping it on the floor as he walked out. Basically, “To heck with you and your bronze medal.”
And the quote given just sums it up: “I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure.” Not to mention slamming the door — behaviour which I didn’t even tolerate in my three-year-olds. (I took their door away for a week — took it completely off the hinges and stuck it in the attic. They never slammed doors again.)
Reminds me of a mad little kid: “I lost, so I’m going to take all my marbles and go home.” The assumption when you enter these competitions is that the decision of the judges is final. There is an appeals process, but if your appeal is denied, you’re supposed to suck it up. If he was unhappy with the judging, he should have appealed. If his appeal was denied, then out of respect to the other players and the sport, he should have stood there on the podium during the medal ceremony.
The IOC is taking it seriously. If I were the Swedish sports authorities, this guy would never compete under my flag again.
Tags: character, Olympics, sportsmanship, wrestling
Poor Sports in the World Arena
So what about this Swedish wrestler? (Story) I thought the Olympics was all about good sportsmanship. Guess I was mistaken. Apparently we Americans haven’t cornered the market on bad manners after all.
He got the medal, interrupted the award for the next medalist to shake hands, and then walked off the podium, pulling his own medal off and dropping it on the floor as he walked out. Basically, “To heck with you and your bronze medal.”
And the quote given just sums it up: “I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure.” Not to mention slamming the door — behaviour which I didn’t even tolerate in my three-year-olds. (I took their door away for a week — took it completely off the hinges and stuck it in the attic. They never slammed doors again.)
Reminds me of a mad little kid: “I lost, so I’m going to take all my marbles and go home.” The assumption when you enter these competitions is that the decision of the judges is final. There is an appeals process, but if your appeal is denied, you’re supposed to suck it up. If he was unhappy with the judging, he should have appealed. If his appeal was denied, then out of respect to the other players and the sport, he should have stood there on the podium during the medal ceremony.
The IOC is taking it seriously. If I were the Swedish sports authorities, this guy would never compete under my flag again.
Tags: character, Olympics, sportsmanship, wrestling