[Marxism] Fidel Castro: The revolting commercialization of athletes (Reflections No. 36)

[Walter Lippmann <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FOURTH REFLECTION ON THE PAN-AMERICAN GAMES

THE REVOLTING COMMERCIALIZATION OF ATHLETES
by Fidel Castro
July 27, 2007
6:35 PM

http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2007/ing/f270707i.html   

Spanish original:
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/reflexiones/esp-036.html 

What, from the technological and economic points of view, has been the worst
problem faced by poor countries? The brain drain. 

What has been their worst problem in patriotic and educational terms? Talent
theft. 

In poor countries, local newspapers and honest individuals who are
interested in sports begin to ask themselves why they must endure the theft
of their nation's talented athletes, after the many sacrifices and
investments it took to train them. 

Cuba, whose successes and efforts in the field of amateur sports no one can
put in question, suffers these kinds of piranha bites more than any other
country.  Just look at how the talent scouts react to Cuba's accusations.
When I spoke of the German mafia and the millions of dollars it had at its
disposal to bribe Cuban athletes, they immediately felt they had been
alluded to and declared: Âno, no, weÂre not a mafia!".

They gave a detailed account of how the shameful business of purchasing and
selling boxers works. I quote their statements below, in the order they
reached me:

        Hamburg, July 24 (DPA) - The heads of Arena Box Promotions, a German
company that scouts foreign amateur boxers to turn them into professionals,
defended themselves today from criticisms by Cuban President Fidel Castro.

        CastroÂs accusations reached Muller-Michaelis through DPA, which, in
an article today published by Cuban newspapers, confirmed the desertions of
two-time world and Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and world champion
Erislandy Lara, members of CubaÂs delegation at the Pan-American Games held
in Rio de Janeiro. 

        ÂIn Germany, there is a mafia devoted to selecting, buying and
promoting Cuban boxers in international boxing matchesÂ, the Cuban leader
affirmed. ÂIt uses sophisticated psychological methods and many millions of
dollarsÂ, he added.

        Hamburg, July 25 (DPA) Â The two Cuban boxers who deserted during
this year's Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Guillermo Rigondeaux and
Erislandy Lara, turned to mediators to come into contact with the German
promotional agency Arena Box Promotions, according to declarations for a
Berlin newspaper made by Turkish German promoter Ahmet Oner, president of
the company. 

        In the brief declarations he offered the newspaper, Oner claims it
was the boxers who separated themselves from their countryÂs delegation and
sought contact with his company, and not the other way around, as was
insinuated in a number of Cuban media. 

        In view of this, Oner, who is not currently in Germany but
vacationing somewhere in Southern Europe, said that he decided to send
emissaries to South America to try and contact Rigondeaux and Lara, offering
no further details. 

        OnerÂs declarations were confirmed in Hamburg today by Arena
spokesman Malthe Muller-Michaelis, who reiterated that the initiative was
the Cuban deserters', as he declared to the press agency DPA.

        In this case, the athletes in question are Odlanier SolÃs, Yuriokis
Gamboa and Yan Barthelemy, who are currently not in Germany but vacationing
abroad. 

        In this connection, Peter Danckert, chairman of the Bundestag Sports
Commission (Lower Chamber) of the German Parliament refused to make
declarations on the Cuban boxers who deserted. 

        I'll let the experts on the matter do that, he commented in response
to a request from the agency DPA in Berlin. 

        Hamburg,ÂJuly 26 (DPA) Â The two Cuban boxers who "deserted" at the
2007 Pan-American Games in Rio, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy Lara, are
currently in Turkey, where they await a German visitor's permit, according
to an article published by the newspaper Morgenpost today. 

        We have hired Rigondeaux and Lara, the Turkish president of the
Hamburg promotional agency Arena, Ahmet Oner, told the newspaper. 

        Fidel, naturally, is angry, but he has no reason to be surprised.
His boxers do not want to be amateurs their entire lives, they want to make
money, Oner declared for the paper. 

        Fidel wants to hide his formidable boxers from the world. I show
them to the world, the young, 34-year-old promoter underscored. 

        Twenty-six-year-old Rigondeaux is extraordinarily talented. Between
1999 and 2003, the two-time bantamweight Olympic champion won 142
consecutive fights. 

        Oner told Morgenpost that, CastroÂs anger vis-Ã-vis the ÂGerman
mafia notwithstanding, he wants to do business with the Cuban president. I
will suggest to him organizing a boxing evening in Havana shortly, he added.



        Hamburg, July 26 (DPA) Â Cuban boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux, two-time
bantamweight Olympic champion, and Erislandy Lara, world welterweight
champion, signed contracts with the German Arena Box Promotions following
their 'desertion' during the Pan-American Games of Rio de Janeiro. 

        All speculations have come to an end: Rigondeaux and Lara have
signed five-year contracts with Arena, a communiquà published by the
Hamburg-based company headed by Turkish-German promoter Ahmet Oner confirmed
today. 

        According to the communiquà issued by Arena, the two boxers will
shortly travel to Germany. Oner refused to reveal the current whereabouts of
Rigondeaux and Lara, for understandable reasons, but he commented that the
steps needed to secure visitor permits and German residencies were being
taken. 

        HAMBURG, July 26 (AP) Â ÂTwo Cuban boxers who defected during the
Pan American Games in Brazil signed five-year contracts Thursday to fight on
a cable television station. 

        "Guillermo Rigondeaux, a bantamweight who won gold at the 2000 and
2004 Olympics, and Erislandy Lara, an amateur welterweight world champion,
signed with Arena TV. 

        Arena TV is the company that other three first-class Cuban boxers,
who deserted in December, signed with. 

        Â'Now the best up-and-coming professionals in the world fight for
Arena',' company boss Ahmet Oner said.Â

        ÂThe two fighters failed to appear for bouts after leaving the Pan
Ams athletes' village Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

        ÂSince the 2004 Olympics, the Cuban boxing program has been hit hard
by defections, with several champions now fighting professionally in the
United States and EuropeÂ. 

        Arena wants to secure a place for itself in the world of televised
sports and believes the Cubans are a great investment.

        Rio de Janeiro - July 26 (EFE) Â In declarations for a Brazilian
newspaper, German businessman Ahmet Omer, promoter of four Cuban boxers who
have already sought asylum in Germany, admitted he organized the get-away of
two Cuban boxers who deserted during the Pan-American Games of Rio de
Janeiro. 

        I organized the whole thing, the owner of the company Arena Box
Promotions stated during declarations published today by the Folha de Sao
Paolo newspaper, where he admitted having paid nearly half a million dollars
to finance the operation. 

        Twenty-six-year-old two-time bantamweight Olympic and world champion
Rigondeaux was one of Cuba's main figures at the Rio de Janeiro Pan-American
Games and was considered a sure medal for the country. 

        The boxers' desertion was discovered this week when they failed to
appear for weighting, to which they had to be submitted to fight in their
respective categories, in which they were gold-medal candidates. 

        A German company here with contacts in South America brought me
Barthelemy, Gamboa and SolÃs in December. I paid good money for them. They
later brought me Ridondeaux and Lara, the boxers' representative affirmed. 

        I took good care of SolÃs, Gamboa and Barthelemy, who are friends of
Rigondeaux and LaraÂs. I believe that helped, the businessman added upon
commenting that the boxers friendship helped in making the other two
Olympic champions opt for deserting to begin professional careers in
Germany. 

        The German promoter said that the operation undertaken last December
to organize the desertion of three boxers and transport them to Germany cost
him around 1.5 million dollars. 

        The five will be world professional boxing champions. Today, I am
the youngest boxing promoter in Europe. With them, I will be the greatest,
he declared. 

        Hamburg, July 26 (DPA) - The desertion had been planned months in
advance, for a tournament in Ankara. But, on that occasion, Cuba
participated with a B team, without Rigondeaux, which was the boxer Oner was
most interested in. 

        Following this, when Cuba decided not to take part in Germany's
Halle tournament, where the Chemie Pokal tournament is traditionally held,
Oner began to suspect Cuba had been tipped off that a boxer was considering
desertion. The city of Halle and the Chemie Pokal tournament had been the
stage, already over a decade ago, of the desertion of Cuban cruiserweight
boxer Juan Carlos GÃmez (one of the four boxers who had been bought in the
past). 

        That is why we set our sights on Rio and the Pan-American games,
where we finally reached our objective, he said. 

        Now, we are going through the red tape with the boys, and, once we
have all of the documents, weÂll travel to Germany, where we will give them
a welcoming ceremony at the appropriate time, he pointed out. The two Cubans
signed five-year contracts. 

        For the other Cubans, all this took three months. With these two
young men, we'll take half the time, that is to say, a month and a half. 

Just look at how they boast about their foul deed against our country.
Everyone knew perfectly well that Cuba would obtain nearly all gold medals
in boxing. They had to deal our country a blow, and they not only bought two
athletes who were sure to win gold medals, they also attempted to deal a
blow to the pristine morale of the other athletes who continued to defend
their gold medals with valor. The low blow even had repercussions among the
judges. 

But they would never have been able, not with all of the world's money, to
buy men like Stevenson, SavÃn, or the deceased Roberto Balado, whose
beautiful tradition bequeathed much glory to Cuban boxing. 

In spite of everything, we have already won 44 gold medals. 



Fidel Castro Ruz
July 27, 2007
6:35 p.m.

================================
WALTER LIPPMANN
Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
writer - photographer - activist
http://www.walterlippmann.com
================================

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