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Big chance to protect NBA, and Stern loses ball |
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Location: Blogs News Articles |
| Posted by:Media |
4/20/2008 8:52 PM |
H e's human, so I suppose it's understandable that David Stern is frustrated with the officials working for the city of Seattle. And it's completely comprehensible that the NBA commissioner is beyond aggravated with that city's unwillingness to finance an arena for the SuperSonics. And all of this must be especially bothersome for a person who is used to getting his way.
But what makes no sense is why Stern is busy going passive-aggressive, insisting the relocation of the Sonics is out of his hands, instead of dropping his own agenda and protecting the best interests of the league by keeping open discussions between the league and the city.
That's supposed to be his job, isn't it?
Protect and promote the league?
Consider that Seattle has a 41-year history with the Sonics. And also consider that Sonics fans filled KeyArena to 78 percent capacity, even in a dismal 20-win season. Also consider that the city of Seattle has spent the last few months requesting more time to work things out with Clay Bennett's ownership group.
On Friday, Stern ignored all that and pushed the issue to the NBA owners, who voted 28-2 to approve a resolution that would allow the Sonics to relocate to Oklahoma City. No surprise there, the last two votes on moves (the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans and the Grizzlies from Vancouver to Memphis) passed by a combined 59-1 vote.
Owners protect owners, see.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban and Portland's Paul Allen go down as the dissenting votes. And it's apparent that those two are more interested in giving the league stability and an obvious large market presence than the league's commissioner.
Allen has the most to gain with the Sonics leaving Seattle. The absence of the Sonics expands marketing opportunities for the Seahawks and the new Major League Soccer franchise Allen owns in Seattle. Also, the Trail Blazers could expand their broadcast territory and pick up stray NBA season ticket holders. Also, there's the matter of leveraging the taxpayers in Oregon with threats of a move to Seattle someday.
There was some talk that Allen, who grew up in Seattle and still lives near there, would cast an "abstain" vote Friday. But removing himself from the vote would have been a cowardly act. In the end, Portland's owner put his own motives aside and voted in the best interest of the league, which is more than anyone can say about the commissioner.
When Stern makes statements like, "The presentation from Washington is, 'We're going to kill you,' " he isn't serving the league. He's serving his own frustration. And he's serving owners who want to preserve valuable leverage in other NBA cities.
Sonics fans were duped into buying season-ticket plans with phony promises that the franchise was staying in Seattle. The team has a lease at KeyArena that runs through 2010, which Bennett plans to break.
Is this what the NBA is about now?
Because if it is, fans in San Antonio, Cleveland, Phoenix, Portland, Dallas, New Orleans, or just about anywhere else, must know they could be next should their city balk at a bad business deal pushed along by Stern.
Which is why fans should protect fans and boycott Stern's postseason.
Don't watch on television.
Don't care.
Don't buy a ticket.
Because in the end, the league doesn't care about fans. It isn't interested in protecting the game as much as it's interested in punishing anyone who dares to cross it. The NBA has decided what it's about, so what are you about?
There's still going to be litigation between the city and the team. And it's possible that former Sonics owner Howard Schultz could reclaim the team if a court agrees with his assertion that Bennett's group wasn't acting in good faith when it bought the Sonics. But before all that, shouldn't the league's commissioner have stepped in to offer a level-headed solution?
It takes no brains to come up with a deal that makes sense for only one party. We keep hearing that Stern is smart and savvy, and that he's got an eye on expanding into China. But when he should have been offering stability and leadership, he instead got busy making snarky and threatening remarks about the future of NBA basketball in Seattle.
All options haven't been considered. All possibilities haven't been explored. But Stern's frustrated, which is why the sycophantic commissioner threw his hands up and pushed the relocation to a vote this week.
The message: Don't cross the commish or this could be the future of your NBA team.
If fans in other cities organized and decided to boycott the NBA postseason, maybe Stern would listen. Or maybe he'd just scoff and let it be known that unless you're rooting for a team in New York or Los Angeles, you could be next.
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