<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2">After months of indecision about whether he'd participate in the Athens Olympics, Ray Allen took one long look at his pregnant fiancee during a recent Hawaiian vacation and, despite her encouragement to play, decided to decline an invitation from the U.S. basketball committee.</font></font> <font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2">The committee announced the Sonics All-Star guard's decision during yesterday's news conference in New York when it revealed the names of the five replacements added to the team. </font></font> <font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2">"I definitely don't want to miss the birth," Allen said during a telephone interview. "It's sad for me to not want to play, but there's more to life than just basketball." </font></font> </div> Full Story courtesy of Seattle Times I would've loved to see Ray play in Athens but you can't fault a man for staying with his family.
I'm actually kind of glad he decided not to play because I think playing in those Olympic games really wears the players out coming into the next season. It will be good for Ray Allen to get a full summer's rest coming into the new season in October. It'll especially be good for his problematic ankles as well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Tigress:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm actually kind of glad he decided not to play because I think playing in those Olympic games really wears the players out coming into the next season. It will be good for Ray Allen to get a full summer's rest coming into the new season in October. It'll especially be good for his problematic ankles as well.</div> That is exactly how I feel about it. The Olympics is an honour, but you have to look at the bigger picture, and that's 82 games plus possible playoff basketball as well. I'd love to see him playing for his country, but that would mean minimal rest in between now and the start of the 2004/05 season. I like his reasoning too. Of course it helps that he already has his Olympic Gold, and perhaps that was the deciding factor in his decision, but to see a man bypass something like the games for his family is a good indication of his character.
Many of the big name stars are politely declining this years Olympics. Ray's reasoning was probably the best of all the players who declined. Witnessing the birth of his child is far more important than the game of basketball. Players this year have several things to consider before heading overseas- security being a top priority.
