Injustices the NBA lockout is causing.
by Kevin Owens /@Waiting4Godunk
I recently sent a text to my brother reading, “I got out of basketball at the perfect time.” Considering the United States is dealing with the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and I am still “job-hunting,” I probably should have chosen my words wiser.
The reason for my animosity toward overseas professional basketball stems from the wave of NBA players committing their lockout futures to various foreign teams.
Despite the fact that my career is over, the players I know who still are pursuing their careers, may face an uncertain future.
The NBA lockout will cause a trickle down effect, which will leave many talented American athletes jobless. The NBA players will take the jobs of the best overseas players, who in turn will take the jobs of the average overseas players and so on. Now I know many readers are saying to themselves, “Yes, that is life. Why should the best players in the world not have a team to play for during the lockout?” Well first, thanks for the sympathy, and second, the problem becomes more complex the longer this lockout goes on.
Say the owners decide to continue the lockout and play the NBA season with replacement players. If this were to occur, the replacements would be made up of mainly guys from the overseas market. Can you imagine the backlash these players who decided to cross the picket lines will face? The NBA Players Union would deem such a thing unforgivable. They would be banned from ever stepping foot in an NBA locker room again.
But where is the justice for the overseas players who are getting their jobs taken by these NBA stars crossing the ocean? Where is the Overseas Players Union? You know where it is? It’s nonexistent! Overseas players are at the mercy of the owners. There is no organization to protect you and order a strike.
Say they decide to stop paying you. Well guess what? You are no longer receiving a paycheck. Say they decide to release you out of your guaranteed contract. Then you will be released. You can complain to your agent or write letters to FIBA, but there is no system in place to prevent these injustices. (Trust me, I’ve tried.)
My friend Greg refers to the whole situation as “Reverse Scabbing.” Crossing the invisible line in the sand. But the NBA players don’t care. And why should they? Nobody is telling them this is wrong. And it is not like the contingency of American players abroad have the capability to boycott playing overseas.
It’s a lot like the movie Goodfellas, when Jimmy Conway and Henry Hill sit helpless as Tommy DeVito gets whacked… There is nothing you can do about it. You just have to sit still and take it.
The most confusing aspect of this whole scenario is the logistics behind some of these player’s decisions to go abroad. You are leaving a guaranteed multi-million dollar contract, to go to a non-guaranteed, multi-thousand dollar contract. Owners have already banned together and told players if they are hurt overseas, they can potentially void some of the remaining contract. Why risk all of that over a much smaller contract? Because you want to play? Here is an idea, find a gym, grab your teammates and practice on your own.
The most ridiculous reason I have heard in favor of NBA players going overseas, is the expanding of their brand. Expanding of their brand?! What are they, Cheerios? What brand is there? You are a human being playing basketball. Do you have a personal clothing line? No, then what brand are you referring to? This makes no sense to me.
I can see the headline on some Turkish arena now. “Come See Deron Williams’ Unique Brand of Basketball. Watch as he Dribbles, Passes and Shoots the Basketball.” If I hear one more time about what a good opportunity these players have for expanding their brand, I will literally punch something. The only brand these players will be promoting is Nike, adidas, Reebok and the one brand they are currently fighting against… the NBA.
It is a helpless feeling knowing someone’s job is being outsourced to a guy who will leave the team high and dry once the lockout ends. Unfortunately, that is how it goes. There is no loyalty in this business. These European teams need big name athletes to draw big name sponsors. Until a system is in place to unify all these overseas players, injustices like this will continue unpunished. Maybe that is my calling…
Kevin Owens is a veteran of overseas professional basketball who also writes for Waiting For Godunk and Hugging Harold Reynolds. You can also catch him on Twitter @Waiting4Godunk.
LATEST NEWS & RUMORS
View all »
- Report: Hawks Not Talking Extension With Josh Smith
- NBA Fines Erik Spoelstra $25K For Criticizing Officiating
- Knicks Sign Mike Woodson to 3-Year Contract
- SLAM Radio: Epitaphs Out East
- Avery Bradley to Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
- Jeff Van Gundy Blasts Orlando Magic for Handling of Stan Van Gundy’s Firing
- JR Smith Arrested in Miami Due to License, Then Released
- Kicks: Derrick Williams’ Birthday Sneaker Scavenger Hunt
- Are the Orlando Magic Ready to Trade Dwight Howard?
- View All »
2. Every year some player in Europe loses his job because another more talented player shows up. How is this NBA deal different? Isn’t professional sports inherently about the best talent?
3. Mega stars hawk products. The more people who know you the more products you can hawk. Thus players have brands.
The NBA is the greatest stage for product placement.
Turkey, Greece, Italy, etc are secondary markets that follow on what is happening in the states.
Isn’t that just a strawman argument designed to advance an erroneous point? There would only be a need to consider how NBA players felt about scabs, if the NBA players were actually on strike. Right now, they have valid contracts with an organization that is not in operation because the owners want to change or eliminate those contracts. The scab issue is immaterial.
Talented players would have jobs in Europe if there were jobs in the NBA. The owners have removed jobs in the NBA so they most talent players have migrated to where there are actually jobs. This is actually how a global economy works. Couldn’t it be argued that American players are taking jobs from homegrown talent that would otherwise have a spot in these foreign leagues if not for pricey imports? Aren’t there scores of foreign players who lose out on the chance to play for their local squads because some American college player who couldn’t make the NBA and didn’t want to kick around in the D-League decides to leave the country? Is that an issue of fairness, or an issue of the best talent being offered a chance to play?
The work conditions suck overseas. NBA owners would like to get them to suck here. I would wager that most NBA players aren’t overly concerned about the possibility of not getting paid because they believe their names will make it happen.
Finally, people everywhere buy stuff. They are more likely to buy stuff from people they feel a connection to. If you’re trying to convince somebody to pay you attach your face to their product, you need to get more people to feel like they have a connection to you.
Thus, you play basketball in a foreign country to build your “brand”, create more fans, and ultimately sell your image to more people looking to sell their products. You don’t actually have to create anything, you just have to have a name that sells things, or appears to sell things. Your name and face are your brand.
“Couldn’t it be argued that American players are taking jobs from homegrown talent that would otherwise have a spot in these foreign leagues if not for pricey imports? Aren’t there scores of foreign players who lose out on the chance to play for their local squads because some American college player who couldn’t make the NBA and didn’t want to kick around in the D-League decides to leave the country? Is that an issue of fairness, or an issue of the best talent being offered a chance to play?”
Comments