In the Olympic eras before television, athletes who accepted money for their performances might as well have been lepers, in the eyes of the IOC. If it was discovered that you got paid for playing, or that you accepted commercial endorsements, you were shunned, banished, cast to the cold winds.
In the most famous example of the inflexibility of the Olympic organizers, Jim Thorpe, perhaps America's finest athlete of all time, had his gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon in the Olympics stripped, and his achievements nullified, because he had once accepted small amounts of money for playing semi-pro baseball during his college summers.
It broke his heart. The medals were reinstated in -- 30 years after his death, 30 years after the moment could have given him any comfort. Torch starts final leg before London Olympics open. It may be hard for young viewers of this summer's London Olympics to imagine, but all the sponsorships, advertisements and marketing hoopla that are a standard part of big-dollar contemporary Olympic Games were thought to be an insult to the Olympic spirit not so long ago.
The Olympics were supposed to be about love of sport, not love of money. The president of the IOC during the years of television's phenomenal growth was an American, Avery Brundage, and the guiding principle of his reign was what was called the "amateur code.
In a speech, Brundage said:. But once Brundage was gone, the floodgates opened. The IOC, after his regime, realized that commercial interests could turn the Olympics into a bottomless goldmine. And to bring in viewers, it was determined that an effective lure would be the presence of the greatest and most famous athletes in the world. Many of whom are professionals. The pro athletes are pre-sold to the public, which means increased viewership.
What made it an easy sell was the suspicion that athletes from certain Eastern Bloc nations were de facto professionals anyway: They were supported full-time by their governments to train and compete.
So, by the end of the s, the move toward professionalization of the Olympics had gained full steam. Which seemed to be just fine with the fans. If the best athletes were paid for their skills, or for granting endorsements, why not? Even into the 21st century, the rules were still changing. Even if they're eligible, pro athletes are still beholden to their leagues' and teams' whims. Each sport also operates on its own schedule, which complicates participating in the games.
Prior to the Winter Olympics, the NHL announced in April that its players would not be competing in the PyeongChang Games in February , after the league and the IOC had failed to reach any agreements on the participation conditions.
Hockey is deep into its season when the Winter Games come around every four years, which is also a consideration for players.
Similarly, some basketball players find it difficult to compete in the Summer Olympics since it comes so soon after the season, especially if your team makes it to the NBA Finals. Wrestling is one Olympic sport that still keeps the amateur rule tight by not not allowing non-amateur fighters to compete at the Olympics. It was almost cut at the Summer Olympics after the IOC originally voted to remove it back in , but Greco-Roman wrestling, which is widely considered to be the oldest Olympic sport, was eventually brought back along with freestyle wrestling due to international backlash.
This article was originally published on By Hannah Golden and Lara Walsh. The Olympic Village is safe and comfortable. Once the Games are over, the Olympic Village is usually turned into a new residential zone for the host city, with the accommodation being sold or rented to the local population. However, the athletes have not always had their own Village. The accommodation provided for the Games in Los Angeles is regarded as the first official modern Olympic Village.
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