AKRON, Ohio – The Zika virus, polluted water, security concerns, an unstable government – pick your poison – have exposed a flaw in the modern Olympic Games. What do Jason Day, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, LeBron James and Steph Curry, who have all announced they won’t be in Rio, have in common? A gold medal isn’t the pinnacle of their profession.
You don’t see any swimmers, gymnasts or track and field stars bailing on the Olympics. That’s because these athletes have spent four years training to make history in their field of competition. Scott has been the most prominent golfer to state what should have been painfully obvious: “I’ve always believed that having the amateurs in from the start would have been the best way for it to go in the Olympics,” Scott said during his press conference ahead of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.