All Ato said is "You kids at home, this is not how you behave as an Olympic champion." and I agree..and if that means I am a hater too then so be it!.if ATO or any Trini athlete had done this I would say its wrong also..but wait a minute according to ttcom I should not say this i should be preachin caribbean love cause de winner from de caribbean
There is a very simple way to look at this. If you go to the National Primary School Games (which I'm heavily involved with BTW) and a 12 year old child did what Bolt did...his teachers would run out on the track with strap in hand and WASH his arse!
So I don't see how it becomes acceptable for an
adult to do it in the Olympic Games.
Is it the worst thing in the world? NO. Does it make Usain an arrogant punk? NO. Is it exemplary behavior? HELL NO
Furthermore Ato should not be taking heat for comments that
Bob Costas made. IMHO Bob deliberately tried to put Ato on the spot to see if he was ready to be handed the keys to the NBC kingdom and he handled it beautifully!
Ato acknowledged that at the time the performance was so spectacular that he overlooked it and even pointed out that knowing Usain he did not believe he was trying to show up the opposition. However he said on reflection he has no problem with celebrating
once it is done
after you cross the line....but showing off like that before is overdoing it.
I think Costas went a bit overboard in that he tried to judge Bolt as a person based on his behavior during the most exciting moment of his young life.
However Costas has been VERY consistent with this line of thinking over the years.
He led NBC's crucifixion of James Carter (400m hurdler who looked back and gestured to the field) and the US 4x100m team in Sydney. In fact it was because of that outlash why Mo Greene was never fully embraced by the US public and didn't get as much endorsements as Marion Jones.
I was even quite surprised to hear Lewis Johnson disagree with Ato and Costas because in the Athens 100m semifinal when Crawford and Gatlin slapped hands before crossing the line, Lewis Johnson said "they embarrassed themselves and their country with that kind of behavior"
I don't mean to be too harsh because not everyone follows track like I do but I think some of us are still a bit too drunk off of the Caribbean's success at these Games and/or a bit too sensitive to the North American Media point of view.
If you disagree with Costas and Ato then fine but don't make it into a "is because dey jealous we" or "Ato sellout". Ato journey now start but Costas has been very consistent if nothing else as far as his point of view
Bear in mind that Carl Lewis...the most accomplished American Track athlete of all time...was ostracized in his own nation for stuff like this (among other things
).
In 1983 Carl was on his way to breaking the then WR of 19.72 in the 200m but started acting "Usain" and ran 19.75. He never matched that time the rest of his life. The US Media ripped him for it.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Carl won the Long Jump easily and instead of trying to break Bob Beamon's WR decided to save himself for the 200m and 4x100m to match Jesse Owens. He was BOOED by his own people and thrashed by the US media for not giving his best effort. He even lost endorsements from Nike and Coca Cola through this kind of behavior. Carl was NEVER embraced by the US public during his career and it was because of stunts like this.
If the US Media chastises their own Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson for their touchdown celebrations, as well as the other American athletes I mentioned, why do you think they would laugh off Bolt's display?
Hell...even the Canadian media dismissed Donovan Bailey as a "sore winner" after his behavior and comments following the 150m race in Toronto that Michael Johnson pulled up in.
Let us all please stop being so sensitive about what others say about us as a poeple because I am sure had it been Tyson Gay who did what Bolt did EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU would have a problem with it...and I guarantee you, precedence show that the US media would have had a problem with it too. That is a fact!
I for one would be TOTALLY disappointed with Ato if he compromised his intelligence and objectivity only because a Caribbean athlete is involved. Ato is moving up in his new career and he should not jeopardize that just to satisfy a few thin-skinned people who are still tribal and insecure in their thinking despite their great accomplishments