Wangmene in Athens

[bierce]

Playing for the Cameroon national team in Olympic qualifying tournament. He's not getting a lot of time (18 minutes in two games), but he is the youngest guy playing in the tournament by over 4 months.

Interesting side note. Last week, the FIBA site didn't list Wangmene on the roster, even though he was part of the 18 man team practicing in France. I don't know if the roster omission was an error or if he was added on later.

Apparently, there was an agreement that most of the team was to be paid for their appearance in Afrobasket last year, but they hadn't beeen paid.
The Link

 

[Stuck_At_Work]

I didn't bother reading the link... but I hope the athletic department made it clear to Wangemne that he can't get paid....

 

[bierce]

I'm sure they did. For anyone wondering if this is Dogus Balbay all over again, it isn't. First, there isn't any indication that the Cameroon team was promised pay for their play in the Olympic qualifying tournament--just Afrobasket, when Wangmene wasn't there. Second, there is an exception to the rule about losing amateur status (or being penalized) for playing without compensation for a professional team, if the team the college athlete is playing for is an Olympic or national team competing for prize money or promised compensation by the sponsoring government and the college athlete does not receive compensation. Rule 12.1.2.4.1.1.
The Link