re: #365 palomino

When the modern Olympics started in 1896 there were very few pro athletes in any sport. In the US then it was just boxing and baseball. The rest of the world even less.

The amateur ideal is no longer realistic in a hyper media age. If you exclude pros, fewer people will watch or care. Why should athletics be divorced from the money-making incentive that exists in nearly all our other pursuits?

It was the Soviets’ use of state-employed athletes, and the Europeans’ use of delayed payment endorsement deals, which killed the Olympic ideal. We had no choice but to allow professionals if we wished to remain competitive.