Thomas Loses This Vote for Place on the Court

I had hoped that the inclusion of NBA players on the 1992 Olympic basketball team would turn out to be a rumor. Unfortunately, we really are going to send them to Barcelona to beat up on every other country in the world. I am convinced that whoever thought of sending them is a fan of the University of Houston football team, the same person that would shoot a caged animal.

If we really wanted to prove our country’s basketball superiority we would send college kids to beat other countries’ pros. The only thing we will prove by sending our pros is that we have no faith in the youth of our country and that we would rather send in NBA players with multi-million dollar contracts and championship rings than five of our kids a chance to have some fun. The NBA will prove only that they, and the people of our country, are greedy.

The tired excuse about other countries sending their pros brings to mind the cliches “if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?” Sadly, I guess we would. I am equally sad to say that I won’t be rooting for the U.S. in 1992. I am a fan of patriotism, but I’m more a fan of fair play. Remember, for every University of Houston, there’s a University of Miami.

CHRIS KEACH, El Cajon