Kobe Bryant shrugs off David Stern’s Olympics age limit idea as “stupid” – NBA News
Kobe Bryant has taken a strong position against NBA commissioner David Stern’s idea of putting an age limit on players who can play for the US basketball team in the Olympics.
After taking an overnight flight to Manchester, England following an exhibition game against Brazil in Washington D.C, Kobe Bryant and other members of the US basketball team made their way to the Manchester town hall where they
had an interaction with the media.
When asked what Bryant thought about NBA commissioner David Stern’s idea to limit the age of players eligible to play for the US team to 23, Bryant said:
“It's a stupid idea. It should be a (player's) choice."
Asked what his teammates in the US team thought about it and whether they have discussed the issue since gathering for training camp on July 5th, Bryant said:
“Our discussion is this: Basically, it's just a dumb idea and we (discuss) it that way. We just discuss it like that (and) kind of voice our opinions through you (media) guys.”
Bryant’s comments come days after he was quite dismissive about the injury concerns NBA team owners such as Mark Cuban had put forth for players competing in the Olympics this year.
Stern started the controversy when during the NBA Finals, he suggested that only players under 23 years of age should be eligible to play for the US Olympic basketball team, whereas all the players would remain eligible to play
in the FIBA World Basketball championships. That tournament will be renamed “World Cup of Basketball” from 2014 onwards.
The suggestion stemmed from the concerns NBA team owners have shown regarding their players competing in the Olympics and risking getting injured.
U.S Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo also does not seem too excited about the idea.
"I don't want to change anything because I like what we have. We take care of our players and I think we do the right things.”
Bryant said owners concerns are there just to protect their interests and are unfair on the players, who should themselves be able to decide whether they want to play or not. He further added that playing in an international tournament
with a whole training staff was much better than playing in the summer leagues etc, where chances of injury are higher.
USA team member and point guard Chris Paul also agreed with the opinion put forward by Bryant, and said that he thought the decision should be up to the player. He added that if the restriction were in place now, he would not be
eligible to play in this year’s Olympics as he is 27 years old. Playing his 2nd Olympics, Paul said that it was the greatest experience of his life.
“I wouldn't be able to play now because I'm 27 years old. I personally would like for it to be your own decision, because playing in an Olympics -- this will be my second -- is the greatest experience of my life,” said Paul.
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