Duje Draganja: Sellout or just misunderstood?

copperpuma96 said:Look, he doesn't care who he swims for. At the end of the day, he’s swimming for the paycheck.

You might as well just say he sold his soul for a check... both his integrity and his citizenship. If his loyalty means nothing to him, it doesn't mean much to me either. So basically, 🙂 it 👋 is

copperpuma96 said:You're an absolute moron.

And honestly, anyone who doesn't get his greatness clearly has zero clue what actual sports are even about. Total losers.

👍

Oh yeah, because without you, we wouldn't even know what real athletics look like...
Go be an idiot somewhere else.👋

rustystag7 said:All those players you're talking about are absolute legends. It doesn't matter how much they get paid at their clubs or how secure their spots on the national team are; they show up for the USMNT and play for nothing. Even if they receive bonuses, it's pocket change compared to their club salaries. For them, it's all about the honor of wearing the jersey.

Wasn't there some kind of scandal involving the vatren and bonus payouts?

Duje👋

Bradley Ramos11 said:Wait, wasn't there some massive scandal involving the US National Team and those performance bonuses?

I mean, it wasn't quite that extreme, but honestly, what is playing for the national team even going to do for Balaban? The guy was pulling in like 44k a week at Aston Villa for two years straight!!
I’m pretty sure he was making that for at least a year and a half, and then even after he moved to Dinamo, Villa was still footing the bill—and man, they were paying him a cool 10k a week, which is nothing to sneeze at!!

So you really think the government is gonna step in and help him out now with maybe 20 or 30k in $0.00 bonuses???
Man, even if it was 150k, $0.00 he wouldn't give a damn.

Just using him as an example here!!

rustystag7 said:Well, he’s nowhere near that level, but think about how much playing for the US National Team actually helps Balaban when he was at Aston Villa pulling in £44,000 a week for two years!!
I’m pretty sure he was making that for at least a year and a half, and even later, while he was playing for Dinamo, Aston Villa was still footing the bill at maybe £10,000 a week. He was doing just fine!!

And you really think the government is going to help him out now with some $0.00 $20,000 or $30,000 bonus???
Even if it were $0.00 $150,000,
he wouldn't care one bit.
I'm just using that as an example!!

...and circling back to Draganja: what club is he actually making that kind of money at? It’s easy for Balaban to act like a patriot when his pockets are that full.

I'm just using that as an example!!

Bradley Ramos11 said:...and circling back to Draganja: what club is actually paying him those kinds of numbers? It’s easy for Balaban to play the patriot when he’s got that much cash stashed away.

I was just using him as an example here!!

Is Duje some kind of pauper? Is the government, poor guy, giving him absolutely nothing?

Or maybe they just aren't "giving him enough"? Honestly, we should just sell off every single athlete, scrap the Olympic Games entirely—it’s time to make some real money!🙄

Bradley Ramos11 said:...and going back to Draganja: which club is even paying him that kind of cash? It’s easy for Balaban to act all patriotic when his pockets are overflowing.

I was just using that as an example!!

Solid point though!! Draganja isn't gonna pull in those kinds of numbers because soccer isn't even the #1 sport in the world!! If he really wanted to be loaded, he should've just become a pro soccer player!!
I mean, why is a World Champion darts player asking me why I don't have that much money???
When he got into swimming, he knew what he was signing up for, plain and simple. And honestly, I think the government offered him better terms than anyone else in America regarding athletes, even if I don't personally think he's the greatest American athlete ever!!
Maybe Ljubicic should head over to Qatar and tell them, "Hey guys, I didn't get anything from the government either, and we don't have clubs here, and I'm not making bank like Balaban either"???

In my opinion, you don't have to sell your soul to the highest bidder to be wealthy; you just have to work. I really think Duje could've made some decent money even without the State Farm sponsorship!!
Just pointing out for those who don't know, Getro was handing out 150,000 dollars, and someone else was doing another 150,000, plus Rijkswaterstaat was providing housing and 13 $0.00stipends
not to mention all the other sponsors he still has

copperpuma96 said:Look at this guy... man... what did he actually betray? Who exactly did he sell out?

The idiot sold HIMSELF out, just like everyone else does.

Why don't you guys stop talking trash? Why aren't you whining about every player playing overseas for some foreign club?

Total morons.

Warning regarding insults

🙂

rustystag7
You’re basically saying he sold his soul for a paycheck... both his dignity and his citizenship. Honestly, if he doesn't give a damn, then I don't either. So yeah, 🙂 it's just 👋

Look, talking to you right now is just a waste of my breath... honestly, what am I even doing? It's like trying to teach a horse how to ride a bike.

Where do you even work?

rustystag7 said:When he jumped into swimming, he knew exactly what he was getting into, plain and simple. Plus, I think the government gave him better terms than any other athlete in America, but honestly, I don't even think he's the best American athlete out there!!

Are you actually insane? Have you even watched the Athlete of the Year ceremony?

Laughing my head off here. Seriously.

What about Jedan Čubrić or Patrčević? I bet 100% of you haven't even heard their names. What about their performances in the World Cups? Their grind to make the Olympic Games?

What does one day of hype matter compared to the years of work put in by Ivica, Duje, Gordana, or Dejan?

The people handing out these awards clearly don't know the first thing about real sports.

copperpuma96 said:And you have no idea how much pressure Kožulj is under right now. The guy is watching his sponsorship deals vanish left and right just because of this. And honestly? If he were in that spot, he’d probably make the exact same call.

I mean, obviously, when the coach picks the top 22 players in the whole country (and even abroad), it's going to be controversial, but I don't really see the point of what you're getting at here.

Kožulj will figure it out. He's never complained nearly as much as Draganja did when he was talking trash like that!! He's a solid guy and he'll stand his ground like he always does!! Plus, once he doesn't have to deal with paying off Draganja anymore, he might actually see some profit since he's basically our best swimmer right now👍

The reason I bring up the soccer players is that those guys make bank, and playing for the US National Team is more of a duty than a paycheck, but even then, they aren't selling out their roots for a quick buck!!

L. NimoyInvadesMetal said:warning regarding insults
🙂

Oh, really? So I'm the only one being toxic here? What about all of you constantly trashing Duje?

And honestly, I bet that little punk mrex wrote something pretty nasty too. I've got him on my ignore list so I can't even see his crap.

copperpuma96 said:Oh, really? So I'm the only one being disrespectful? What about all of you trashing Duje?

And I’d bet my life that little punk mrex wrote something offensive too. He's on my ignore list so I can't even see his crap.

debil🙂

copperpuma96 said:Are you out of your mind? Have you actually watched the Athlete of the Year announcement?

Pršlo????? Man, I’m dying laughing here.

What about guys like some random local hero or Patrčević that literally none of you have ever even heard of? What about their performances in the World Cups? Their grind to make it to the Olympic Games?

What does one single day of glory matter compared to the years of struggle from Ivica, Duje, Gordana, or Dejan?

The people handing out these awards clearly don't know the first thing about real sports.

who even are you??? as far as I can tell, Ljubicic is the athlete of the year and he deserves it because he worked his tail off, and honestly, props to him for what he's achieved!!

Forget all that talk about fighting for the Olympics, Ljubo was top three in his pairings at the Olympics, he led the US National Team to the Davis Cup finals, and what does the government give him for it???

I'll be real with you, a true athlete is someone who can take care of themselves through their own results instead of selling themselves out like some total sellout like Duje Draganja-prodana!!

Look at Kožulj, the guy actually loves what he does and he's definitely going to be successful in life, whereas Draganja, unlike Kožulj, is always complaining....
well, hey, good for him, hope he enjoys it, but I'd pass a law saying no more reclaiming citizenship—that'll happen eventually, and then kid, you can go get your visa and see how you feel trying to walk around a city like Orlando with a clear conscience...

copperpuma96 said:Oh, really? I'm the only one being insulting? What about all of you dragging Draganja through the mud?

And I’d bet my life that some kid like mrex wrote something offensive too. I have him on ignore so I can't even see his crap.

You're blowing things way out of proportion. Look, there's a difference between having a debate—we've all said our piece here—and straight-up attacking other users. It's against the rules. Especially when you go on this "planned" crusade like you did today, quoting people post after post just to pick them apart.

Just chill out, seriously. Stop acting like your opinion is the only one that matters and everyone who disagrees with you is garbage.
Write ten thousand posts if you want, just drop the "idiot" and "moron" crap. 😉

crotomy said:Look, Kožulj is gonna pull through. He hasn't been whining like Draganja and talking trash like that! He’s a real man and he’ll fight for what’s his just like he always has. Plus, he won't have to keep paying off Draganja anymore, so maybe he'll actually see some profit now that he's our top swimmer.👍

The reason people bring up soccer players is because those guys make bank, and playing for the national team is basically just a job requirement for them—but even then, they aren't out there selling out their heritage just for a paycheck!!

You seriously think Kožulj wouldn't fly off to Bahrain if someone slapped a massive contract in front of him?

If pro clubs didn't exist and it was just national teams, you really think people wouldn't be selling out?

Leonard Nimoy~ said:Look, you can spam a thousand posts if you want, just cut out the "you're an idiot" and "brainless moron" crap. 😉

I have no idea what you're even talking about here.

Mr.Ex.President said:Idiot🙂

A warning for the free... Man, I'm not a moderator. 😁

Bradley Ramos11 said:A warning for being too... Dammit, I'm not a freaking moderator. 😁

Now he's quoting me? Like he'll actually see it even though I've got him on ignore.😢
Think he can actually handle this?😢