After much controversy over the debate on whether or not NBA players should get paid to play in the upcoming summer Olympic games in London, Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade says, "I do not want to be paid to go to the Olympics."
Wade, a tenured member of Team USA who is making his third Olympic appearance, was quoted on Wednesday saying he (also) thinks "guys should be compensated" for playing over the summer and detailed the schedule of an Olympian.
"It's a lot of things you do for the Olympics -- a lot of jerseys you sell," Wade said after the Heat's practice on Wednesday, in advance of Thursday's game against Chicago. "We play the whole summer. I do think guys should be compensated. Just like I think college players should be compensated as well. Unfortunately, it's not there. But I think it should be something, you know, there for it."
The gold-medal game is slated for August 12, just a month before NBA players resume workouts for their upcoming early fall training camps.
"The biggest thing is now you get no rest," Wade said Wednesday. "So you go to the end of the season, [Team USA] training camp is two weeks later. You're giving up a lot to do it. It's something you want to do. But it's taxing on your body. You're not playing for the dollar. But it would be nice if you would get compensated."
Although players receive a $25,000 bonus for winning a gold-medal, Wade made sure to tweet that playing for his country "motivates me more than any $$$ amount."
Source: espn.go.com
