Gica Popescu shows how patriotism becomes an excuse for being pathetic.

Gheorghe (Gica) Popescu, the former captain of Romania's national soccer team, finally admitted to having been an informer for the country's secret police during the communist era. Popescu's admission comes just three days after he denied the allegations, calling a newspaper report that he had been a Securitate informant "a big lie"-- a big lie followed by bigger evidence. 

In an interview with the daily Evenimentul Zilei, Popescu said he wrote four notes informing on teammates and other colleagues while he was playing at Universitatea Craiova. The defender was part of a Romanian team that qualified for three consecutive World Cups, starting in 1990 and for two European Championships. He also helped Barcelona win the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1997. When the allegations surfaced on Monday, the 41-year-old Popescu said he had only signed a document in 1985 promising to "defend the national interests" during the regime of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Always the seasoned opportunist, Popescu defended his actions under communism--  "Even if I wrote notes, I wrote good things", he insisted. "I praised [those] people." 

Romania's star soccer player Gheorghe Hagi, who is related to Popescu through marriage, came to his defense, saying sports had brought glory to Romania in the communist era. "We [sportsmen] were the ambassadors for Romania. They should look elsewhere" for Securitate agents, he said. Hagi, of course, maintains that he did not inform-- or, at least, that no one has evidence to the contrary.

It seems to me that such unselfish, noble athletes love to be looked upon by cheering crowds only to blush modestly when one attempts to look at how they really served their countries under communism. In case no one taught Popescu and Hagi how to be "good sports", here's a quick lesson: When you get caught cheating, at least have the honor to admit what you did without adding all those apparatchik-inspired excuses.