Olympics Start Tonight! And I'm Disgusted

The summer Olympics is one of my absolute favorite times. This is when we get to see amazing athletes from around the world who have dedicated and sacrificed so much for a little fame and recognition. It's the time to showcase sports for athletes who don't get a million dollar signing bonus or pimp sandwiches for subway.

So why am I disgusted?

Of all the inspiring stories the Olympics has to offer, I still know WHY or HOW Snookie told her friends she was pregnant.

I have to watch the "Situation" on (insert lame game show here).

I know that "Kyle" is back on the Bachelorette/Bachelor/Actor trying to get a job show.

Because every time I go by the TV there's some "News" about the mob housewives of orange jersey or some other "reality" show.

Reality shows are proof that the world is coming to an end. Forget crime, forget social unrest, reality shows are the decay of modern society. For entertainment's sake you can be famous for lecherous and reprehensible behavior. People support these personalities because it lowers the bar for them and tells them its "OK" to act like a piece of crap.

Don't get me wrong, over the course of my life I have had some less than stellar moments. I call them mistakes and regrets, not my portfolio.

South African Sprinter Oscar Pistorius

As South African Oscar Pistorius proved in 2012, you don't necessarily need legs to compete against the best sprinters in the world at the Summer Olympics. Pistorius had his legs amputated below the knee at the age of 11 months and was initially going to compete solely at the 2012 Paralympic Games but a last-minute ruling added his name to South Africa's roster for the 2012 Olympics. Regardless of how he finishes in the 400-meter sprint, his favorite event, or the 4-400-meter relay, Pistorius has already made history as the first amputee to compete in the Olympics and the Paralympics in the same year.

American Hurdler Lolo Jones 

Lori Jones, more commonly known as Lolo, didn't have it easy growing up. Her mother juggled multiple jobs, struggling to feed her six kids while their father was in and out of prison. At one point, the family lived in the basement of a Salvation Army. Ms. Jones told HBO Sports that she used to shoplift TV dinners to help feed her family. (She also famously told HBO Sports that maintaining her virginity at age 29 has been harder than graduating college or training for the Olympics.)

Ms. Jones is now a media darling and a brand unto herself. Despite a disappointing 2008 games, and needing surgery a year ago to repair a tethered spinal cord (OMG, ouch) Ms. Jones qualified for the 2012 team and is gunning for gold.

"It's all about fighting," Ms. Jones wrote in her blog, Run Lolo Run, and for me it is about climbing all the way back to the top." 

Sudanese-American runner Lopez Lomong 

Lopez Lomong has been running for a long time. When he was a 6-year-old boy in Sudan, he was taken captive by rebel soldiers during a civil war. With the help of friends on the outside, he escaped and ran. He ran for three days and three nights to reach a refugee camp in Kenya.

Mr. Lomong lived in the refugee camp for ten years, finally coming to the US as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" at age 15. He became a US citizen in 2007, and has been able to bring his two younger brothers to the U.S. He has also set up a charity, 4 South Sudan, to help Sudanese children. You can find out more about his foundation at his website, lopezlomong.com.

American boxer Queen Underwood 

Queen Underwood started boxing at age 19, and it helped lift her out of a dark depression. She had been horrifically abused —physically, sexually, and emotionally — by her father for years. Boxing gave her a feeling of control over her own body, and helped remove the feelings of helplessness she had endured through the trauma.

Now at age 28, Ms. Underwood is considered one of the USA's best hopes for winning a medal in women's boxing. (2012 marks the first time that women's boxing is even an event.)

She's also starting a foundation called Living Out the Dream. Ms. Underwood, along with her sister Hazzauna, has become an outspoken advocate for victims of child and sexual abuse.

"My whole motto is 'Can't stop, won't stop,' " Underwood told USA Today. "I'm looking forward to reaching out and being a mentor and an idol to everyone who has been through the same situation or maybe just has had a hard life." 

American weightlifter Sarah Robles 

Sarah Robles, is not just the strongest woman in America, but has out-lifted every man and woman in the country to become the highest-ranked lifter in the country. Despite this, she lives in poverty because there's no endorsement deals for incredibly strong women, apparently. Incredibly, Ms. Robles also suffers from a congenital deformity of the wrists and forearms called Madelung's Deformity, which causes pain in her wrists.

By the way, while sponsoring companies may find Ms. Robles' appearance "nontraditional," she is, in fact, rather traditionally feminine. When she's not training, her hobbies are "old lady activities like cross-stitching and crocheting" she writes in her blog, Pretty Strong. 

Saudi Arabian runner Sarah Attar 

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Attar is one of two female athletes competing for Saudi Arabia. Ms. Attar, who has spent most of her life outside Saudi Arabia and speaks with an American accent, trains in San Diego. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to vote or drive, and cannot take a job or even be admitted to a hospital without permission from a male. While there are no specific written laws that prohibit women from participating in sports, there is no physical education for girls, and no women's-only hours at swimming pools, reports IOC said.

Ms. Attar hopes her appearance in the Olympic games will encourage other women to participate in sports. "We all have the potential to get out there and get moving," she said in an IOC video.

The 2012 Olympics marks the first time in history that female athletes will be competing from every nation.

Palestinian Runner Woroud Sawalha 

Although the United Nations doesn't recognize a Palestinian state, the International Olympics Committee has allowed athletes to compete under the Palestine flag since 1996. That political controversy aside, Ms. Sawalha aims to improve the image of women in sports in her country when she runs the 800 meter.

"Maybe the view of girls will change from practicing sports in a more professional way and more freely in front of people," she told CNN recently.

Ms. Sawalha, who runs in a black head scarf, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt, doesn't even have a track to train on. She runs on a road full of pot holes, cars, and horses. 

In my opinion EVERY Olympic Athlete is a hero. Especially the "non-money sports" like judo, wrestling, tae kwon do,  and weight lifting where athletes work $10,000 a year jobs, live out of their cars and in the back of gyms just to train for the trials.

I know these people. 

If you're not from money, you're living day to day. Scraping a living at menial jobs so you can have the flexibility to train and find the money to travel and it's not cheap. the way the Olympic system works is that you need to compete in a specific number of competitions at a particular level. You may be as fast as Usain Bolt, but if you don't compete in enough competitions around the world, you won't even be able to compete in the Olympic trials. Unless you're in a sponsored sport like track and soccer it is up to you to pay your own way, travel, meals and expenses to compete. Some organizations can help compensate you like USA Wrestling, and US Judo Association but most times it may just cover some meals and not even your hotel. 

So when I see JWOW getting her own show and making millions I want to get in a bathtub and throw in a toaster.

Please in some way shape or form, even it's it just watching when you have a moment, support the effort this summer and watch some TRUE REALITY. 

Train Honestly,



Damian Ross CEO, The Self Defense Company

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