Bruce Wilkins of the Carolina Breeze and carolinabreeze.com forwarded this e-mail he received from 4-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin:

G’day Bruce,

I hope you had a great Christmas and new year.

Thanks for the award as athlete of the year. I would certainly like to clear just one thing up.

With reference to the national anthem and myself not standing for the playing of it: When I first came to the USA in 1996 I always stood and faced the flag for the playing of the anthem. It was with time that I realised the people I was dealing with, other racers and the organization to name a few, had no respect for us and the country we are from. After four championships, many race wins and pole positions I still to this day have not heard my country’s national anthem. I went to a supercross in Sydney, Australia, a few years back and the thing that got my attention the most was the amount of times I heard the the Star-Spangled Banner. I thought it was respectfull that they welcomed these supercross racers from the States with the playing of their national anthem. They also played it before the final and when an American rider made the podium. It didn’t matter that Chad Reed won everything on the night, it mattered that we said thanks to the American guys for coming over and having a go.

As I drove home I told my wife that I was pissed at the AMA for not showing myself, my crew and all other Australians in the paddock the respect they deserve for leaving home to have a go.

As most people know, I love riding bicycles which of course means I watch the Tour de France. I stand and cheer for Lance Armstrong when he smokes them up some ridiculous climb. I don’t care that he is American, only that I am witnessing something special.

A person’s nationality should have no boundaries against the respect they deserve for their performance.

We are a nation of just 20 million people, we cannot make millions of dollars racing in Australia, if we could I would prefer to stay home and race as this is where my family and friends are. Our athletes in almost all disciplines have to travel to make the same money our brothers are making in places like America. Our best football players may make five hundred G’s compared to the millions and millions getting paid for a similar thing in the States. Our best-paid car racers make about the same, compare that with the NASCAR boys. Our most successfull bike racers make a sign-on of about twenty to thirty thousand dollars and if one guy wins everything for the whole year, he may clean up sixty grand plus a motocross bike and Jet Ski.

We don’t complain about it, but part of being an Aussie means you will pack your bags in two seconds to get a piece of it. Yes, I love being in the States, I fly the American flag out front of my new home. This year it will be joined by an Aussie flag. I will again show due respect to your country at the racetrack when a select few of your countrymen show theirs to mine. I’m an Aussie, mate, a very proud one.

Thanks, mate.

Mat Mladin



See related post:

1/2/2004 Local Paper/Website Honors Mladin