For these “negotiations” to be carried on and essentially thrown in the American public’s face from week to week, is plain scandalous. Arguing over millions and billions of dollars in this social climate is an enormous mistake that the owners are used to and unafraid of making, and one that the players, who think and want us to think they are truly united, are too naive to realize they are making. In fact, let’s just call it what it is. It’s ignorance.
With people taking to the street over loss of jobs and financial security, to blatantly put on this arrogant show of greed is unconscionable. I’m a lifelong fan of the NBA and like many young kids, I had my own hoop dreams. But what I’m witnessing both angers and saddens me. It saddens me that agents and executives have wormed their way into some of my favorite players’ heads only to exploit them. It angers me that there is no NBA season because the players want me to accept that they are being cheated out of a “fair deal” — and that it’s a travesty they will make $4 or $5 million a year instead of $9 or $10.
My message to the players is simple. Let the owners be greedy, stop listening to your greedy agent, and take a hard look at what’s going on around you. This is a very opportune time for some of you to do a very noble thing. Be grateful for what you have and put your money to good use. Think about the other people who depend on an NBA season for their livelihood. Consider how much less they make a year. Try remembering that you have more money than most of us will ever see.
As this lockout is in many ways a microcosm of the current financial situation in this country, it’s high time for a revolution of the mind. The haves can no longer walk between the raindrops expecting the have-nots to reprise their role as the silent majority year after year. Soon, some of our highest earners may have no choice but to face their polar opposites in one way or another on some battlefield. Only in that game, a jump shot would be utterly useless.
–jeremy tate
