Monday, October 10, 2011
The Survival of NBA Basketball
Basketball is a special sport, played by special people. People who play basketball love the game. Everyone can either play it in their backyard,the park across the street or nearby schoolyard. Every kid who ever picks up a basketball dreams of the day he will play in the NBA. Even if he knows he doesn’t have the talent to make it to the NBA he still imagines that he has the ball with 5 seconds to go in the game and takes the shot to win the game.
The players in the NBA must realize that they have the ultimate talent in this unique and special sport. They are doing what they dreamed of all their lives. However they will only be able to play this sport for only a small percentage of their life. The average number of years a player in the NBA plays is five years. For a player in the NBA to lose one of those years, it is unconscionable. There is no amount of money that can make up for that loss of a year in the players professional life. This year can never be regained.
The players must take the initiative in this dispute and tell both the owners and union that this impasse must end and end now. THEY MUST TELL THEM TO SIT DOWN AT THE BARGAINING TABLE AND NEGOTIATE THE BEST DEAL THAT THEY BOTH CAN LIVE WITH.
I only wish I could reach all the parties in this situation with this message. The Players, The Owners and the Players Union. This is one time where money is not the prime issue. Survival of the game, the players and the venue is the issue. That can only happen with reasonable action by reasonable people. I hope that all the parties involved come to this same conclusion and do the right thing before it is too late.
The players in the NBA must realize that they have the ultimate talent in this unique and special sport. They are doing what they dreamed of all their lives. However they will only be able to play this sport for only a small percentage of their life. The average number of years a player in the NBA plays is five years. For a player in the NBA to lose one of those years, it is unconscionable. There is no amount of money that can make up for that loss of a year in the players professional life. This year can never be regained.
The players must take the initiative in this dispute and tell both the owners and union that this impasse must end and end now. THEY MUST TELL THEM TO SIT DOWN AT THE BARGAINING TABLE AND NEGOTIATE THE BEST DEAL THAT THEY BOTH CAN LIVE WITH.
I only wish I could reach all the parties in this situation with this message. The Players, The Owners and the Players Union. This is one time where money is not the prime issue. Survival of the game, the players and the venue is the issue. That can only happen with reasonable action by reasonable people. I hope that all the parties involved come to this same conclusion and do the right thing before it is too late.
# posted by Al Lerner @ 9:37 PM 
