I don’t like the Olympics. Summer, winter, whatever, to me it’s one big corporate party that leaves tax payers footing the bill long after the party ends. Needless to say, I’m not very popular with a lot of people as a result of this opinion. I get a lot of – What about the atheletes? They train all their lives for this – comments from people. And yes, the atheletes do train all their lives for this, but it’s unfortunate that what this has become is a shameless cash grab for the Olympic Committees and their corporate buddies. If the Olympics and getting to the Olympics was truly about the spirit of sport and the atheletes themselves, then people like Claire Kelly wouldn’t have to do what she’s about to do.
Kelly, a pro beach volleyball player from Australia, has recently announced that she will be auctioning off space on her body for corporate tattoos. I’m not talking about temporary tattoos either – I’m talking about real, permanent ink. I find this ridiculous on two levels: one that she’s making a mockery of tattoo and two, that she’s making a mockery of sport by selling herself to the very corporations who make a killing off events like the Olympics.
‘For $10,000 you can have a 2cm x 2cm piece of Kelly’s toned and tanned left limb, while $50,000 buys 5cm x 5cm on her right arm or shoulder. There are other … um, packages, for between $10,000 and $50,000 and an eBay auction.
The money will pay for the Gold Coast athlete and Melbourne-based Kleverlaan to join the internationally televised world pro tour, on which the pair must play at least 12 events to qualify for London.’
Totally ridiculous. It’s sad that an athelete has to reduce herself to this in order to get ahead and that talent alone isn’t enough. That in itself should be enough to prove to anyone who’s paying attention what Olympic level competition is really all about: money. I hate seeing this and I hate seeing tattoo reduced to a mere method to create commodity. A cheap and sleazy advertising ploy. Shame on everyone involved on this. You all suck.