Boycott the NBA: Fans Should Reclaim the Power

Sign to Boycott the NBA
Fans all should stand united and boycott the NBA and players in order to reclaim the sport and make it affordable to the people.

The labor dispute of the NBA has finally reached its boiling point. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has opted to disband the union and take their chances in court. At a time when the rest of the world is figuring out how to make changes with economies on the downward trend, the owners of the NBA and the players are fighting over how to split money and how the business should be run.

There are people who will blame the owners and there are others that will blame the players. I find it very humorous when people blame just one side or the other. Doing so is very ignorant of exactly what has taken place and the issues being fought over.  Each side is to blame.

I tend to side a little more with the owners. The way I see it, they are the ones that put up all the financial risks associated with owning the team. The players act like they are partners, but don’t want to be burdened with the risks involved. The owners’ profits fluctuate with how well their teams do, while the players have guaranteed contracts no matter how they perform. For this reason I believe that the owners do have a right to try to put a system in place that will allow them to be competitive and make some money. After all the owners have a right to make a profit on their business.

Even with that said, both sides are to blame for this mess they have gotten into. I’ve gotten more and more fed up with the players and the owners trying to act sympathetic to the fans. Unfortunately the fans interests or wants are completely ignored throughout all this. When I sat and thought about this it made less and less sense. I mean where does the money come from that goes to pay the players’ salaries and line the owners’ pockets?  The answer is that it comes from the fans.

So why aren’t the fans considered at all through all of this? It would seem that the parties involved don’t care about the fans because they believe that no matter what happens the fans will come back. If you look at it from their point of view you can’t really blame them. While the game increased in popularity it wasn’t good enough just to take those profits and be happy. The players wanted bigger salaries and the owners didn’t want to lose their profits. So they continually increased ticket prices and concession prices to the point the average fans can’t afford to attend many games if any.

I completely understand the players wanting to make as much money as they can. This is how a capitalist society works. I just wish the players would realize that they are paid huge sums of money to play a game. I also understand wanting certain rights because it is their career. Again though, everyone should put it into context of what they really are doing.

At some point this will all get worked out either legally or through some type of compromise between the owners and players. They will come back and start a campaign to regain public support and say how much the fans mean to them all the while still trying to squeeze the most out of them. I don’t believe this is fair. I think they owe it to the fans to come back to reality. They should lower the tickets and keep the prices low. It shouldn’t be a one season decrease like the last time and shouldn’t just be lip service.

The NBA should get back to being more about the fans. In order for this to happen, the fans will have to do something drastic. They will have to do something that will really get the players and the owner’s attention. Fans should boycott the NBA and the players till the game is given back to the fans. To do this fans would have to be united on a mass scale and not give in to the temptation to buy tickets or merchandise.

If you have the same feelings I do sign this petition that will be sent to the NBA commissioner, David Stern, and the NBPA. Also use the hash tag of #fansboycottnba on any tweets about this topic.

I would like to believe that there would be enough interest of fans to do this, but I’m just not sure. I would like to think that fans are more intelligent than what they players and owners think of them. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime I say let’s start a movement and see where it goes. Maybe, just maybe we can make a difference and reclaim a great sport.

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Fedil

I was originally born in Missouri, but traveled around most of my childhood. My mom finally got tired of moving while we were in Dallas, Texas and I have been here ever since. After high school I started college at the University of North Texas (UNT) and started working in the computer field. I currently work for JCPenney as a front end software engineer for their e-commerce website. Before this I worked for AT&T about 12 years and started with them in 1999 (when they were Southwestern Bell). I have many passions and I really love photography. Besides photography I also love sports. I not only like to watch it, but I also love to play. Currently my friends and I play indoor soccer and flag football.

4 thoughts on “Boycott the NBA: Fans Should Reclaim the Power

  • November 26, 2011 at 9:48 pm
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    NBA PLAYERS AND OWNERS DON’T DESERVE ANOTHER CENT OF SUPPORT FROM THE FANS. THAT MONETARY SUPPORT SHOULD GO INSTEAD TO ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEREN VICTIMIZED BY THE LOCKOUT-arena employees, owners and employees of restaurants near the arenas;also owners and employees of sports bars near those same arenas;THESE SHOULD ALSO JOIN WITH FANS IN REFUSING TO SUPPORT NBA UNTIL NBA ACKNOWLEDGES FANS AND STOPS THESE WORK STOPPAGES(ALSO STRIKES BY PLAYERS)!

    Reply
  • November 26, 2011 at 10:00 pm
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    There are lots of things fans can do-they can play sports or participate in activities themselves that cost a lot less than attending the NBA games would cost;arenas also could have CONCERTS, ICE SHOWS, HOCKEY GAMES(if there are local hockey teams needing a place to call home),etc. THE NBA MUST BE MADE TO LOOK LIKE GARBAGE AFTER EVERY WORK STOPPAGE-HOWEVER LONG IT LASTS-THAT PUTS PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREET OR ON UNEMPLOYMENT LINES AND ALSO PUTS LOCAL RESTAURANTS,SPORTS BARS, ETC.,WHOSE BUSINESS AND INCOME IS DEPENDENT ON NBA GAMES BEING PLAYED.

    Reply
  • November 28, 2011 at 12:13 pm
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    All NBA Products, Sponsors, and Media outlets should be boycotted. Remember the effect on the NHL, when it almost folded? Yep, it is the FANS that have the power.

    Also, support those local businesses affected by the lack of decency and pure greed exibited by both the players and owners.

    Reply
  • November 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm
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    Well now we will get to see if the Fans will act as sheep or really stand their ground to make a point to the players and owners. I get a bad feeling that there will be a lot of sheep. 🙁

    Reply

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