Q: Why is it that our men and women’s Olympic basketball teams are being housed on a luxury cruise ship, while the rest of our athletes are being housed in what appears to be in substandard Olympic village housing?
—J.A. Jernigan, Atlanta
A: The U.S. Olympic basketball players are staying on the Silver Cloud because of security reasons, according to media reports.
NBA players Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving, among others, are among the most high profile athletes at the Olympics and “extra precaution” is needed, Jerry Colangelo, the director of USA Basketball, told the New York Times.
A fence and metal detectors surround the area leading to the Silver Cloud, according to media reports. Police escort the U.S. men’s team when traveling to practices and games, USA Today reported.
“They’re very valuable assets,” Colangelo said.
“Let’s be honest — how can our men’s and women’s teams stay in the village?” U.S. Olympic women’s player Angel McCoughtry told the Times. “They would get bombarded, especially the men’s team. They won’t have peace.”
NBA players from other countries, including Australia’s Andrew Bogut, Argentina’s Manu Ginobili and Brazil’s Leandro Barbosa, are staying in the Olympic Village, the Times reported.
The U.S. men’s basketball team has stayed in hotels or on ships since 1992. They lived on the Queen Mary 2 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
“We have the same amenities as if we’re staying in a hotel, so I don’t really see what the (discussion is about),” Anthony said in a news conference, as reported by USA Today.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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