The Miracle on Ice.
(Image credit: Illustrated | AP Images, iStock)

The modern Olympics were conceived as a celebration of amateurism. In this idealistic vision, athletes from around the world would gather to compete on the basis of ability, commitment, and friendly rivalry — not because they were being paid.

It hasn't worked that way. Since the 1970s, restrictions against participation by professionals have been steadily relaxed. The changes have been less dramatic in sports that can't sustain commercial leagues, but in basketball, hockey, and a few other Olympic events, competition is dominated by international stars who earn millions for deploying their skills seasonally on behalf of valuable privately-owned franchises.

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Samuel Goldman

Samuel Goldman is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard and was a postdoctoral fellow in Religion, Ethics, & Politics at Princeton University. His books include God's Country: Christian Zionism in America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018) and After Nationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021). In addition to academic research, Goldman's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.