Athletes’ Overseas Vacations - $5.5 Million

SportsUnited is touted by the Department of State as being the premier sports exchange program for what the department calls “sports diplomacy.” Through this initiative, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sends American professional athletes and coaches all around the world to “conduct drills, lead team building sessions, and engage youth in a dialogue on the importance of education, health, and respect for diversity.” Taxpayers will spend $5.5 million on SportsUnited this year.

Since 2005, the United States has sent over 220 athletes to more than 50 countries. Taxpayers have sent Major League Soccer player Tony Sanneh to Ethiopia, NBA players like Dikembe Mutumbo and George Gervin to Sudan and India, and a former WNBA star to China. SportsUnited also brings athletes from other countries to the United States as part of their Sport Visitors program. The program has brought nearly 1,000 international visitors since 2003.

For example, the government paid for Tunisian swimmers’ trip to the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials this summer. Taxpayer dollars also paid for track and field athletes to travel from the Caribbean to Oregon and beach volleyball players from Russia to southern California.

In our current fiscal climate, investing scarce resources in overseas trips for high-paid, jet-setting professional athletes should not be a high priority for the federal government.