I know it’s not football related but hey, it’s my blog. This topic has been bothering me for quite a while; People hating on the players during the ongoing NBA Lockout. Sure, both the owners and players share a bit of the blame but blame the owners for the state of the Lockout and the state of the game in general.
NBA has suffered Lockouts before. Some were real brief but the last wiped out half a season. The players fought against the owners and Commissioner David Stern. The owners complained that the then Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was unfair to the owners and had to be changed. The players looked bad and greedy with some of the big stars like Patrick Ewing saying "SureNBA players make a lot of money, but we spend a lot too", and another, KennyAnderson, saying he would have to sell one of his 8 cars to make ends meet (he later said he was kidding). They got scared when their pay checks didn’t arrive and caved in. David Stern and the owners won. This Lockout was back in 1998 for the 1998-1999 season. High fives for them and even Sports Illustrated showed how this was awesome for the owners and the league.
Stern won, then, which was no surprise; he almost always does. That's why the owners had the good sense for the last six months to keep their mouths shut and let him work. While the players were talking too much—first putting their hightops in their mouths with ludicrous comments that showed how out of touch they are with the average fan and then hurting the union's cause by revealing how desperate they were to settle—the owners let Stern be their voice. It's true that they had a gag order with the threat of a six-figure fine hanging over their heads, but these are wealthy, powerful men. The fear of writing a check didn't keep them quiet. Confidence in Stern did.
So fast forward to today and what do we have? The owners are complaining the current CBA is not good for them and that they are losing tons of money. Say what? The owners forced the players to accept the deal. It was their deal. They played hard ball, via Stern, and won. So now, the league is saying that they are losing more than $300 million a year. So whose fault is that? The players? Last time I checked, it wasn’t the Players’ Union who gave Rashard Lewis a $118 million contract who doesn’t play any D and can only jack threes.
The owners forced the players to accept the last CBA. They were the ones who said the players will get 57% of the share. Now the owners want to take it down to 50% or even lower and people are upset at the players for not accepting? Look, I am a Portland Trailblazers fan and I want to see them win a title in my lifetime. But I also understand where the players are coming from. They were strong armed into accepting the last CBA deal and now they are getting strong armed into accepting another. Why should they trust the owners and their judgment? It’s like that old saying, “Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.” They don’t want to get burned again.
What makes this lockout even better is Michael Jordan’s role. When the last lockout took place, it was reported that Jordan told one owner, Abe Pollin of the Washington Wizards, "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team." Ironically, he ended up playing for Pollin at the end of his career which many Jordan fans forget to recall or prefer to wipe out of their memories. Now, Jordan is on the other side of the debate as the owner of the Bobcats and you can’t help but see the irony. One day, you’re telling owners get out of the game if you can’t afford it and now you’re saying you can’t afford to stay in the game and want the players to accept less.
So the lockout is still ongoing but the players and owners don’t seem close to reaching an agreement. Good. It happened to the NHL and they missed a season and now the league is doing well but we’ll see how things go when their next CBA deal end. As for the NBA, they should not reach a new deal until both sides are happy. That way, we can blame both for the lockout. Right now, I can’t point the finger of blame on the players. The owners wanted the last CBA deal; got it and now they are crying that the deal is no good. Sorry, but that’s your fault.
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