Nene To Play For Brazil In 2012 Olympics

It was always expected, and now it's essentially official: Nene will play for Team Brazil in the 2012 London Olympics. The Brazil squad announced their 15-man roster for the national team, and Nene, despite begging off qualifying last summer due to "personal" and "contractual" reasons, will be reinstated to the team. He will join a deep roster that includes Indiana Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao and San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter.

In an interview with Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Nene had expressed doubt that he would be reinstated, but coach Ruben Magnano said he decided to bring Nene and Barbosa back despite both skipping qualifying. There's a chance Nene could get injured or cut before August, but it appears to be pretty slim, since one of the major reasons he even returned to the court at all this season was for him to get in some reps to prepare for London.

I'm sure there will be many people who felt the Wizards should have tried to outlaw Nene from competing due to his injuries, but the Wizards have no control over this. Whether they should is perhaps another story, but I for one think that the current setup is appropriate. Players should be given the chance to represent their country if they so choose.