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Fourth-Place Medal

Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:59 pm EDT

Wrestler throws medal, MSNBC doesn't care

By Maggie Hendricks

In a temper tantrum befitting a 2-year-old, Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw his bronze medal to the mat, and walked off the podium. This was after he had to be held back from attacking the judges in a controversial semifinal loss to Italian Andrea Minguzzi. If you just watched MSNBC's coverage of Greco-Roman wrestling, you would have just seen the story of American Adam Wheeler's unlikely bronze, and Minguzzi dancing and flipping after winning gold. Abrahamian's tantrum, along with the upsets of several top wrestlers including Egyptian Karam Gaber and American Dremiel Byers, were not even discussed, much less shown. What gives, NBC?

Another writer has already accused NBC of glossing over China's problems outside of sports. I see that as a forgiveable sin if it's their intent to keep sports separate from politics. (Of course, if that was their intent, they shouldn't have fawned over the Georgian and Russian medalists who were friends.) However, whitewashing what actually happens within the sporting arena is completely unforgiveable. There are good things and bad things that happen in sports, and responsible journalism covers it all.

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905 Comments

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  1. drakester18
    1. Posted by drakester18 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    wow...who throughs a medal to the ground and about attacks the judges? yea it was a bronze medal but still its still a medal. some one must have some anger issuses
  2. Apalled
    2. Posted by Apalled Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:18 pm EDT

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    I don't care what the circumstances are, temper tantrums are for children. If he had been wronged, hi conduct shows he had it coming.
  3. drakester18
    3. Posted by drakester18 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    your right apalled
  4. tiol
    4. Posted by tiol Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:36 pm EDT

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    Hey hendricks,
    Here is a story for you
    "Chinese news service reported that gold medal gymnast was 13"
    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/08/14/underage.gymnasts/index.html?cnn=yes
  5. Sandi D
    5. Posted by Sandi D Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:03 pm EDT

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    China has proven itself bias, not to mention, obviously unfair towards any olympians that pose a threat to its team and image. To me it represents a country stuck in medival times and one with its own agenda. They do not represent the art of sportsmanship in the true olympian term.
    I regret the way you were scored, as well as the Ukraine boxer, and other countries. I find any relationship with China an embarrassment abandoning all hope that the Bejiing games would help unite the world. It is achieving the opposite.
    Sandi A. Danio, USA
  6. Franky49J
    6. Posted by Franky49J Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:03 pm EDT

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    I agree -- temper tantrum like a 2-year old kid. What's next holding your breath and stamping your feet? His only comment seems to have been "I wanted gold." That's an excellent defense -- not! This guy doesn't deserve to be in the Olympics. Was there no 5th grader who was smarter or better able than him?
    Hey, Ara, leave your medal and go home! You're not wanted here!
  7. Masik8
    7. Posted by Masik8 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:10 pm EDT

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    He should have at least sold his Bronze medal on eBay and made something off of it.
  8. Andrew C
    8. Posted by Andrew C Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    "I find any relationship with China an embarrassment..."
    Wow... quite a statement.
  9. Gina J
    9. Posted by Gina J Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:09 pm EDT

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    How did we get on the subject of the Chinese gymnasts?
    Anyhow, yeah, bronze medal throwing--extremely juvenile. If I did that, my coach would have ousted me from the team. That's just embarrassing to Sweden. If athletes are going to be acting on their high horses like this, perhaps they don't deserve their star status.
  10. Ima.Y
    10. Posted by Ima.Y Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:31 pm EDT

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    I agree with Sandi - 100% !!!
  11. Tam
    11. Posted by Tam Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:57 pm EDT

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    Yeah...that's pretty childish. But NBC isn't much better than China's journalism by censoring it. I agree with the article writer...good and bad happens...it's not right to only show one side.
  12. Gukaso
    12. Posted by Gukaso Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:09 pm EDT

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    Who spells throws as "throughs"? that's a better question.
  13. K B
    13. Posted by K B Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    That's crazy and unsportsmanlike!
  14. Lily The Shortie : )
    14. Posted by Lily The Shortie : ) Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    Yikes. He doesn't deserve to even be in the Olympics. The cost? He will have a bad reputation that is hard to get rid of and he will be ostricized in not just the sports community, but from his friends and family as well. He proved that he was merely a child and unworthy of a medal.
    OMG I'm 13! I wish I could win a gold medal tiol....
  15. Steve
    15. Posted by Steve Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    Which is it? Did he throw it down, or sort of set it down on the mat? The picture above infers the latter as does this from the Reuters story:
    "Abrahamian took the bronze from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium and dropped it in the middle of the wrestling mat then walked off."
    Whether he dropped it and walked off or threw it and stormed off, (as the first poster wrote), it's still an Olympic medal.
  16. Ryan G
    16. Posted by Ryan G Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT

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    MSNBC has far-left tantrums almost everday especialy from Keith Olbermann. So for them, it's not news, just another tantrum day.
  17. Natasha W
    17. Posted by Natasha W Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:33 pm EDT

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    I think this guy who threw down his medal is a disgrace to his country. How embarrassing. There will always be times in sports and life that things do not go your way but how you handle it is what matters in the end. Life is not always a fair game and you just have to deal with it. I am glad he is not from the great USA
  18. espnzone
    18. Posted by espnzone Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:39 pm EDT

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    I guess yall never heard of 1972 us mens basketball team that lost
    to russia in very strange circumstances. i think final seconds of
    game was replayed over and on second opportunity russia scored
    winning basket. i think none of americans claimed their silver medals.
  19. Robert L
    19. Posted by Robert L Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:49 pm EDT

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    Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage never would have thrown their medals like this. What is this world coming to?
  20. Jen R
    20. Posted by Jen R Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    I'm glad they didn't cover him throwing a fit. I see my 2 year old do it daily, I don't care to see a pathetic , grown man who didn't get his way do the same. Seriously.....
  21. Natasha W
    21. Posted by Natasha W Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:33 pm EDT

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    oh and one more thing I would take the medal if does not want it.
  22. glenn p
    22. Posted by glenn p Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    someone has spelling and grammar issues too!
  23. A Yahoo! User
    23. Posted by A Yahoo! User Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:29 pm EDT

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    What a sore loser man. He should be happy he even got a medal at all. Maybe he follows the saying "Second place is the first loser." Or in his case third. Good way to act your age, which now obviously is 2 years old. And also get your 15 minutes of fame.
  24. yankeebo@...
    24. Posted by yankeebo@... Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:28 pm EDT

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    NBC is an irresponsible and poor medium through which the Olympics is reported to us. Good or bad, report it!
    We are going to see it or hear about it on the internet, which to me is an even better source for the Games, minus those idiotic commercials.
    Wait till the US Basketball team hits the hold platform. NBC will be sure the world stops in its tracks to see hours of self-serving pandering of these money-marketing 'superstars' to satisfy the sponsors. Every Olympics I root for a European team to beat the US in basketball. Theirs is true nationalism...the US team is playing for individual glory and future endorsements.
    NB
  25. Moss
    25. Posted by Moss Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:27 pm EDT

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    I concur. This action is nothing short of childish. Abrahamian brings the definition of "sore loser" to a whole different level. His quiting the sport is no loss. Kids who aspire to go to the Olympics do not need to see this kind of behaviour. The sad thing is that for the rest of his life, he will probably always be trying to justify his actions to others. This is just plain sad.

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