I need to know something about the Olympics...?

Question

Can someone explain to me why they say that a "profesional" athlete can not compete in the Olympics (for example a professional boxer) but yet NBA players like Kobe can ! How does this make sense?

Answer 1

it depends on each sport, some do permit professionals some do not (baseball, boxing).

Answer 2

I agree with you but then the question that comes into play is "who is considered a professional and by whose standards?"  I think that when it the other countries began sending their most professional players to play basketball is when the USA decided to begin using their "professional" players too.  

JMHO.  I don't know for sure.

Answer 3

it depends on the sport. back in the good ol' days it used to be that the US Olympic team was for amateur athletes only. For our team sports we would use college student-athletes as opposed to professionals. The sports like basketball and hockey felt that they wouldn't be as competitive against the rest of the world and so they decided to use professional athletes instead. many other sports, however, remain true to the Olympic spirit and use only amateur athletes.

Answer 4

probably because Kobe is not classified as "professional" athlete