Olympic Shocks That Were to Be Expected

The American basketball team’s loss to Puerto Rico has proved again that it is not a good idea to have professional athletes compete in the Olympics. By allowing professional athletes to compete, and then allowing real stars like Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, et al to turn their backs, the NBA essentially degraded the Olympic spirit.

Fielding a second-tier team and then calling it a dream team is like rubbing the arrogance and contempt this country has toward the rest of the world in their faces. I am ashamed as an American.

Chol W. Kim

Los Angeles

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Re “The Crowd, and Its Roar, a No-Show at Games So Far,” Aug. 17: First, we tell people that Athens is not going to be ready for the Olympic Games. Then we tell people that if they do go, they will be blown to smithereens. Now, we tell them that there are a lot of no-shows and empty seats at the Games.

I can’t figure why this is happening. This is all Greek to me.

Robert H. Williams

Monterey Park