Columnists Should Not Tell Dwyane Wade What He Should or Should Not Do

Greg Stoda's Palm Beach Post column headlined "Dwyane Wade Should Not Play in the Olympics" would seem quaint were it not so cynical and headstrong (via TrueHoop). In the piece, Stoda argues that Wade is being selfish for rejoining U.S.A. Basketball this summer, insisting the real motives for his play in Beijing are marketing cash and pride of self. And from the get-go, Stoda tells Wade (bluntly) to decline Jerry Colangelo's invitation.

Color me liberal, but don't you think we ought to let Wade make this decision? The thought of deferring to corporate employer over nation and self is extraordinarily silly; it's Wade's offseason, and so long as his employer has agreed to let him go play basketball and he is healthy enough to do so, why shouldn't he? Why is it assumed -- just because Mickey Arison pays him $14 million a year -- that anything Wade does should be done with Miami on his mind? Wade, of course, performs his end of the bargain during the NBA season.

Yes, he was injured last season. But it was the Heat who -- mired in embarrassing depths -- shut Wade down early. (The team also shut down Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion, who did not appear a fraction as injured as Wade, and Pat Riley trotted out a parade of D-Leaguers as the losses piled. Go figure.) If Wade is comfortable with his physical condition, and the team is comfortable with his physical condition, there should be no issue.

In spite of this, Stoda goes out of his way to indicate the Heat secretly hate that Wade's going to Beijing, that Wade cares more about promoting "The Wade Corp." than winning gold for the United States, and to generally diminish any sort of patriotism Wade has shown in previous media interviews. Basically, Stoda thinks Wade is a selfish liar, and Stoda thinks he (a columnist for a daily newspaper) knows what's best for a wealthy, 26-year-old man near the top of his profession. Anyone else have a problem with this?