Vidostream | News, sport and opinion from the Vidostream's US Edition

https://vidostream.com

Andrew Bogut isn't too pleased with Australia's Olympic Village digs

It’s been a rough welcoming for the Australians at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

First, there was the “blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring” that forced the Australian Olympic Committee to delay their athletes’ entry into the Olympic Village last week. Then, when they finally did check into their accommodations, laptops and clothing were stolen from their rooms while they were forced to evacuate because of a trash firenear their building early Friday morning.

So, you can imagine the frustration of veteran Dallas Mavericks center Andrew Bogut — an outspoken member of Australia’s national basketball team — when his arrival at the Olympic Village began with him having to put together a shower curtain for his bathroom and only seemed to devolve from there.

Athlete accommodations at Rio’s Olympic Village are outfitted with single metal beds, so the 7-foot Bogut might be a bit uncomfortable for his team’s two-week stay. Still, the Aussie seems to be taking it all in stride, chronicling his time in Brazil with the tongue-in-cheek hashtag #IOCLuxuryLodging.

While you might think Bogut is overstating the problem a bit, perhaps because he’s accustomed to more luxurious digs as a result of his $104.7 million in career earnings, he’s actually somewhat famous for his aversion to what he’s dubbed “the NBA lifestyle” in several interviews over the years.

“Not to disrespect how other people live, but it’s something that I don’t think is appropriate for children,” Bogut told CBS Sports of the NBA atmosphere in 2015. “I don’t think a child should have a Louis Vuitton bag at four years old or have a cell phone at six. That’s something I don’t think is right, and it’s not the way I’ll raise my kids the day I have ‘em. Yeah, it’s an interesting one. I’ll just try to keep my kids level-headed and make sure that they work just as hard as I did to get to where they are. There are going to be no free handouts and I’ll want them to have a normal childhood.”

I think we can all agree there’s a big difference between looking for a free handout and asking the International Olympic Committee to at least hang a shower curtain in an athlete’s bathroom.

At least Bogut doesn’t have to worry about his laptop and clothing getting stolen, since he probably doesn’t use the internet and those oversized clothes wouldn’t fit any would-be robbers. And who knows? Maybe the notorious NBA enforcer’s arrival will help bolster Team Australia’s security a bit.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.
You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second