NBA lockout ends little too late for labor force

The National Basketball Association has finally reached an agreement that looks as though it will end the lockout that has canceled the basketball season until late December.
 
With hundreds of games canceled, fans, players, and owners are excited to get the season underway and to return to the sport. Unfortunately, the end of the lockout comes significantly too late for many of the members in the workforce whose jobs are focused around the NBA season who do not play on the court.

It is easy for a basketball player who is making a salary in the millions of dollars to take a couple of extra months off, relaxing and worrying about just how many digits are going to precede an excessive number of zeroes.

For your average hotdog vender, T-shirt salesman or bar owner, it is much more problematic. With the cancelation of games, local restaurants and bars that usually flourish on pre- and post-game dining have suffered from the stifling of business.

Venders who sell their merchandise and food at games have lost their opportunity to make their living. Those who are paid to maintain the stadiums and arenas have also been put out of work for an extended period of time.

In the case of a lockout, though, it isn’t even as if they can simply go get other jobs. There was no indication as to when this agreement would end; they simply had to wait it out and see when they could return to business as usual.

Now that the NBA has reached a preliminary agreement that would most likely see the return of basketball by Christmas, those who were previously out of work can look forward to returning to their jobs. It is, however, significantly too little too late. The greed of the players and owners has prolonged this battle far beyond what was necessary.

Although I defend the concept of defending one’s work for what is fair and just, there is no justice in the few creating economic problems for the many. From the fan perspective, the lockout has been just as detrimental to morale as to their work.

While the time came and went for the NBA season to start, fans waited with anticipation to hear that the lockout had ended, and they could return to rooting for their hometown teams. When the lockout didn’t end, however, people simply stopped caring. They started watching college basketball, the end of the football season and even hockey (yeah, hockey).

The NBA brings in billions of dollars in revenue at the discretion of the people. The players play at the pleasure of the fans, and the owners throw their faith into their following to continue to funnel money into the system that they have created.

When the system fails to see how detrimental the lockout has been to its fan base, both those working for the league and those who enjoy the game, it demonstrates a failure in basketball that even a collective bargaining agreement can’t fix.

­— azoot@indiana.edu