Duje Draganja: Sellout or just misunderstood?

copperpuma96 said:man, listen to this total drama queen... give me a break...

your cynicism is what's actually pathetic

RuzanPrljavGlup said:your cynicism is just pathetic

nah, it ain't.

"what's the point of having cash if you've got nothing left at home" aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa................ :LOL:

Ed Wood said:The guy took the money. Honestly? Smart move.
What does he have to gain from national pride or all that sentimental crap? Absolutely nothing. You can do a hell of a lot more with a fat bank account.

That's easy to say when you're sitting pretty and living the high life.

Does anyone know if John might actually hold dual citizenship with Qatar and the US? Honestly, I’d love to see them just block him from entering the States entirely—just make his life a total nightmare at every single border crossing worldwide. Now I know exactly who I'm rooting against during swim meets.🙂 🙂 ... Just a sellout, plain and simple. Can you blame him for not being born in some wealthy country where he could actually make a living just by swimming? I’m starting to find this sport more and more repulsive. John, you really showed us all how much you care about the US...

-Shevchenko- said:You're an idiot.

And honestly, anyone who fails to grasp his talent clearly has no idea what sports are actually about. Total Neanderthals.

Give me a break. If he didn't have enough money to secure a comfortable life for himself and his family, I might actually say something. But he has more than enough, and yet it’s still not quite enough for him. Fine, it's his choice, but I guess the US should just write him off entirely. Strip him of his citizenship and make him apply for visas whenever he wants to visit us. He's basically Qatari now. Personally, I'd probably even request a thorough search at the border.

Paul Lopez49 said:Give me a break. If he just didn't have enough cash to provide a decent life for himself and his family, I wouldn't say a word... but this is different. It's more than that. For him, it's still not enough. Fine, it's his choice, but frankly, America should just write him off entirely... in every sense of the word. Strip him of his citizenship and let him deal with visa hassles whenever he wants to set foot on our soil. He's a Qatari citizen now. Honestly, I’d want them to run a full background check on him every single time he hits the border.

I'm with you on this.
Why hasn't Gabreselasija just swapped his citizenship already?
He's got the money, he's got the future, and clearly, he just wants even more cash... so fine, let Qatar be his home now.
Even his old man would probably hang onto his American citizenship just because it makes traveling the world easier. He isn't exactly rushing to go visit Mustafa...

goldenangler4 said:Does anyone know if John can hold both Qatari and American citizenship?

John already handed over his passport with the stars and stripes just to have it trashed; he’s probably gone full desert nomad by now. When he finally decides to show up back home in Los Angeles, he'll likely be stuck waiting in line for a tourist visa. Or maybe he'll just meet his family in some country where Americans can fly in without asking permission—probably somewhere like Mexico. 😁

...roughly speaking, if John wanted to find somewhere to park his rug, he’d basically end up at a world-famous pig farm or some random gas station outside of Des Moines...

I honestly hope he runs into some serious trouble at the border... I mean, seriously? He’s just turning his back on his country and everything he stands for just for a paycheck. Is he really the only one who jumped at the offer? I read somewhere that Qatar was actually looking to buy passports for four more swimmers.

Someone should call a local radio station and request these two songs for our guy Hassan: Everything is in a state of chaos.... I'd give anything for the USA, I'd give anything in the world...

goldenangler4 said:I honestly hope he runs into some trouble at the border... Selling out his country and his dignity just for a paycheck. Is he really the only one who took the bait? I read somewhere that Qatar was offering passports to four other swimmers too.

We should call up a local radio station and request these two songs for our buddy Hassan: "Everything is lost..." and "I'd give anything for America, I'd give anything in the world..."

Yeah, I heard there was a Pole, an Alzirac, and a South African involved (along with John), but by some weird coincidence, it looks like John ali GaKaki is the only one who actually jumped on the offer.

And here’s what John ali GaKaki wrote himself:

Qatar presents new challenges from another angle. Along with unique financial support, there's the excitement of gathering several top-tier swimmers to take on major swimming challenges and challenge the very status of the sport itself. Being part of this new "wave," unprecedented in my sport, is a huge motivator and an honor for me personally.

The guy is delusional. He claims he's going to "challenge the status" of swimming... give me a break, man. Such an arrogant jerk.

I am not giving up my American passport, nor my homeland, nor my faith. No one asked me to do that, and it isn't even possible. I know this path won't be easy, but you shouldn't fear any challenge—you should be grateful they exist.

Honestly, screw him. We don't care if he's renouncing the US or not; what matters is that most Americans are turning their backs on him. That's all we need to do—we can't let someone like him represent the US in any capacity ever again.

There's no "challenge" here for my friend John ali GaKaki; he already stepped in it, and that's that.

To wrap this up: screw you, I'll say it again, and don't bother coming back. Get lost.

Noah Anderson66 said:I'm with you on this.
Why hasn't Gabreselasija just switched his citizenship already?
He’s got the money, he’s got the future, and clearly he wants even more cash. If that's the case, let Qatar be his home now.
Some weaklings would cling to their American citizenship just because it makes traveling the world easier. He isn't going to Mustafa...

His statements today were basically him saying, "Yeah, I'm swimming for Qatar, but I'm still swimming for America." What? Is he expecting two flags to be displayed next to his name at the UN? What a clown. He probably grabbed that new passport ages ago. Poor mother...🙂

One guy is wondering if John can even keep his US passport, while another one is insisting he picked up a Qatari one ages ago. If this wasn't so depressing, it’d actually be pretty hilarious.
And then you've got someone claiming John won't be able to travel here or there. Give me a break. He'll be able to go wherever any of us can—and honestly, probably a whole lot of places we can't. Enjoy the saltiness. It's not the old days anymore; we aren't all living under the same level playing field.

I wonder what happens if, say, John becomes an Olympic champion and then Qatar comes knocking with a massive double offer; he could spend his entire career jumping from one country to another. I suppose a man is nothing more than a traitor when money takes precedence over everything else. Thinking back to the Olympics, he swam in the relay and seemingly threw the race just to save his energy for his individual events, which led the entire national swim team to call him out—and honestly, they were absolutely right to do so.

JOHN, SHAME ON YOU

Money moves in ways you wouldn't believe.

Pesalov, da Silva, and the Janic brothers...

Sandra White2

Give it a rest, seriously. Stop talking just to hear yourselves speak.
I haven't seen this much fake patriotism since... well, ever. Most of you people attacking John would sell out for way less than 5 million, but you’d rather just sit here and nitpick.
How can you even compare 500,000 to 5,000,000? We're talking about a figure that actually secures a lifetime; let's face it, a pro sports career doesn't last forever.
As an American, I look at what John did and see it as the lesser of two evils—honestly, it's more decent than those scumbags hiding behind the American flag, stealing even larger sums from the US government while nobody bothers to put them on the front page of the papers or make them the lead story on the news.
Some of you defend soccer players, basketball players, and all the rest just because they play for the national team and haven't officially renounced their country. But why don't we talk about why these big-name American sports stars don't pay taxes to the country they supposedly love so much? They stash their money in offshore accounts, drive cars and boats with foreign plates, set up businesses abroad, and even adopt kids in other countries... now *those* are the people who deserve the spotlight. That's where the real hypocrisy lies, not with John.
God and Americans.

I’m honestly just worried that America won't let him go as easily as he walked away from us—you know, like they'll keep coddling him or trying to suck up to him to get him to come back. I just feel like they aren't going to treat him like a Qatari🙂

Dujadin, just give it up already!🙂

Duje, you definitely made the right call here!

I mean, if this country can't even figure out how to look after its top-tier athletes—and let’s be honest, it isn't like there's a lack of cash floating around, especially when you consider the massive budgets of insurance giants and major corporations—then I suppose it's perfectly understandable why Duje decided to go with a Qatari passport.

Brian Booth75 said:Duje, you made the right call.

If this country can't step up for its elite athletes—and let's be real, there's plenty of money floating around in insurance and corporate sectors—then why shouldn't Duje just take that Qatari passport and go?

Idiots. 👋

Oh, when it comes to freaking Qatar.... I'll take on them, the oil money, and everything else, and walk away with 5 million bucks! 🙂

God help us if they decide to start dumping money into handball or tennis over in Qatar...
As far as I know, you can't just swap out your national teams in soccer or basketball, but in handball, they let you jump back in after a two-year break...

And thank God it never snows there so they don't get into skiing, otherwise we'd have the whole Lasse Virén family dominating the slopes too.