For any athlete who is worth their salt in their sport, the Olympics are the ultimate grail. Anyone can feel proud to have represented their nation at an Olympic event. It takes an enormous amount of effort to medal in the global games. To begin with, technically speaking, everyone in the globe is entitled to compete for that medal, and hundreds of people would kill for the opportunity to stand on the podium and hear their national anthems being played.
Also read: Michael Jordan explains his bizarre motivation for joining Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on the Dream Team: “I had no desire in winning the Gold Medal.”
But what happens when someone views winning the gold as a birthright? Evidently, they dump their medals of “loss” into a lake somewhere. Carmelo Anthony, the former all-time leading scorer for USA Basketball, at least accomplished that with his bronze medal.
Carmelo Anthony and Team USA “only” won the Bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Due to America’s dominance in the sport of basketball, taking home the gold at the Olympics became a given. The Olympic record of Team USA is amazing to watch: 19 appearances, 16 Gold medals, 1 Silver medal, and 2 Bronze medals. Not a single performance went without receiving a medal, i.e.
Anthony, a household figure in NBA basketball in the twenty-first century, just so happened to take part in the 2004 Bronze “debacle.” Additionally, the medal appeared to have hung around his neck like an albatross. It might not have been around his neck for very long, at least physically, and it appears to be a lake’s resident.
That supposition was made based on video footage of Melo engaging with a Baltimore hood. Young Anthony is seen being bullied by those close to him because he took home a “penny” at the Olympics. Additionally, the rising star appears to admit to throwing his medal into an unknown lake.
Melo confesses to “throwing the motherf*****r overseas” in response to heckling from a member of the audience. A smiling Melo is seen indicating that it is in a lake. Watch it all unfold in the YouTube video down below.
It was clear that he wanted to get rid of the Bronze medal, but it seems the explanation was made up. Anthony may have taken a cue from his “Banana boat” crewmate, LeBron “LeCap” James.
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Carmelo Anthony actually auctioned his Bronze medal off for a healthy $14,080.
According to a member of his family, Melo sold his bronze medal after giving it as a gift. According to those engaged in the auction, Anthony “no longer cared to keep the medal in his possession.”
Anthony has successfully brought honor to himself and his nation. Later, Melo was a member of three Gold-winning Team USA rosters. But it’s clear that Melo didn’t want to keep the bronze medal that brought him his redemption.
The medal being put up for auction is undoubtedly not as insulting as tossing it in a lake. In this scenario, one man’s fortune is unquestionably another man’s garbage.
