Hoops

Should Olympic athletes be made to payback?

An interesting conversation guys. This issue reminds me of how much our society relies on the good will and hard work of many people.

Whether it is training to be an elite athlete, learning a trade or studying a degree, people in positions of authority put immense time and money into developing young people with no real guarantee of any return. But I think the reward of seeing some fulfill their promise is so great, that people will always be eager to mentor the next generation.

In the end, it is pretty hard to force someone to give something back to society, but fortunately a lot of people do willingly, including top athletes.

I am not sure exactly what financial perks top Oympic athletes get, but perhaps their high media profile does afford them a bigger slice of the pie than your apprentices and degree students. It would be nice if your average joe who becomes an accountant, carpenter, brickie or desk jockey.

One thing I would like to see is NBL teams changing their mindset towards allowing contracted players to go to Europe and even the NBA for free. It is becoming a cut throat world out there for basketball and I don't see Euro clubs handing over their best players for free. NBL clubs (and local clubs and the AIS) invest a lot of time in young players and we should look at trying to get some money invested back into Aussie basketball so we can continue to attract good young atheletes and develop them effectively. A lot of Euro soccer teams survive in just this way - by developing and selling on their best players.

Should apprentices have to pay back their initial employers if they move on?
The issue's bigger than the tall poppies.