"By the grace of reality and the and the nature of life, man - every man -
is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his
own happiness is his highest moral purpose."
- John Galt from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"
Who needs who? Do the athletes need the federations or do the federations
need the athletes? Who does the Kenyan Federation serve by punishing Ngeny?
They serve their own sense of power. And they ultimately serve up their end
because the day is coming when the athletes, the people who give the
federations a reason to exist, say enough is enough and walk away.
Why are so-called amateur athletes still required by the IAAF to funnel
their earnings into a fund controlled by the federations? How long do you
think it will be before the athletes are tired of that? What power does the
IAAF and the collective of federations have over the athletes? Aside from
the opportunity to compete at the Olympics and World Championships, none.
Why was the IAAF so quick to "allow" the athletes to accept significant
money not so very long ago? Because they would have been dust had they not.
Unless the IAAF and federations stick to legitimate activities - namely
trying to insure a level playing field and providing organized competitions
for athletes so they can focus on being their best - they will eventually
dry up. How much love do you think the world's best athletes will have for
the World Championships and the Olympics if some entrepreneurs come along
and create their own World Championships that pays the athletes better with
no Draconian strings attached? Or they create a successful professional
track and field league that pays better than they can make now? How many
world class track and field athletes would abdicate their opportunity to
compete in the Olympics and World Championships if they could sign an
eight-year contract for 1 million dollars (or half of that) to compete for a
professional team? If the number is less than 95% I will be amazed.
What does everyone else think?
