Disappointment, frustration and aggravation are the best ways to describe how National Basketball Association (NBA) fans are feeling during the current lockout. The NBA has remained locked out for over 125 days because of an ongoing dispute between millionaire players and billionaire owners.
Neither side owners nor players are completely blameless for this ongoing dispute but the focal point for both sides should be getting back to playing games for the fans that have supported them for years. There are no winners in this current dispute only losers: the fans that miss the opportunity to root on a nightly basis for their favorite players and teams.
The season was slated to begin on Nov. 1 with the defending champion Dallas Mavericks facing off against the reigning Eastern Conference regular season wins leader Chicago Bulls. However, on Oct. 28 NBA Commissioner David Stern officially canceled the first month of the season through Nov. 30.
Typically sports lockouts are resolved in a timely manner with both sides agreeing on a fair deal. This took place earlier this year when the National Football League (NFL) and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement on July 21 that did not cause the cancellation of any regular season games.
The NFL understood the importance of maintaining their season for the fans, while NBA owners and players can clearly care less. NBA owners and players biggest stalemate is the revenue split. The revenue split for the past 12 years has been 57 to 43 percent, in favor of the players. Nonetheless, owners hope to change this by demanding that they will not accept a deal that does not require players to take an eight percent decrease in the revenue split.
NBA commissioner David Stern, in a recent interview with New York Times, said “We are trying to make a deal with the National Basketball Players Association…and we hope to make a deal with them.” NBA Players Association Executive director Billy Hunter has also been steadfast in his belief that a reasonable and fair deal needs to be made soon. In spite of this sentiment from both sides, a deal is nowhere in sight due to pure greed of both owners and players.
With a resolution clearly out of the realm of possibility right now basketball fans can only be left wondering when their beloved sport will return to them. Junior Peter Hailey said, “I am devastated [about lockout]. This is due to the owner’s greed and they are preventing me from watching my favorite sport.”
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