1972 Olympic Basketball Travesty

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, amidst the Cold War and the killing of 11 Israeli Olympic team members by Arab terrorists, the 1972 United States Olympic basketball team took to the court in Munich, Germany, and lost ... or were the players cheated by the Soviets? Dating back to 1936, no American team had ever lost in men's basketball in Olympic play. The author describes the final game between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which was marred by controversy. After the loss, the paper relates, the U.S. team players refused to accept their silver medals.

From the Paper:

"This is where the strange confusion begins. After the Soviets in-bounded the ball, the officials halted the game for the first time. The officials decided to put three seconds back onto the clock because it was believed that the Soviet Team tried to call a time-out between Collins' free throws. The officials never acknowledged the Soviet time-out at the time; nonetheless, the additional seconds was granted; the first of a few "issues" that seemed to stack against the United States."

Sample of Sources Used:

• USA Basketball History Site. 2004. USA Basketball, INC. 5 Dec. 2007. <http://www.usabasketball.com/history/moly_1972.html>.
• About.com: History of the Olympics - 1972 Munich, West Germany. 2007. About.com. 5 Dec. 2007.<http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa081000u.htm>
• The Heroes of 1972: The 1972 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team. 2003. Sports History.us. 5 Dec. 2007. <http://www.sportshistory.us/1972.html>

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