NBA Lockout: As Owners and Players Disagree, Who Does It Really Hurt?

With the NBA team owners and players unable to agree on a new work agreement before the deadline on Thursday night, all NBA activities and operations have been put on hold with no real timetable for a return.

While I do not claim to be an expert in any of the financial dealings of the league, would not be qualified to offer help for either side, or even really have an understanding of what they are arguing about, I do know one thing: The NBA is killing its league—and its image.

I understand that some may argue that the damage is already done with the majority of teams operating in the negative.

I get that many blame the players for wanting too much money and then not performing in return.

I realize that the owners have a lot of operating expenses and that it takes an enormous amount of money to run a successful franchise.

That being said, I really do not have much sympathy for either side that is unable to come to an agreement on how to divide up the billions of dollars that the league generates from ticket sales, television contracts, advertising and marketing, corporate partnerships and all other sources of income.

I don’t feel sorry for Billy Hunter, David Stern, Adam Silver or Derek Fisher who, after a long day of negotiations, hop into a limousine and head to a five-star restaurant and hotel, or to the airport to catch a private jet to their million-dollar homes in gated communities.

I don’t feel bad for the players who will have no choice but to sit on a beach and sip drinks, travel the world or attend all of the top social functions this year, while waiting for the opportunity to go back to playing a game.

I also have a hard time believing that this work stoppage is going to be so awful for the owners and the players. Even if they do not play the next entire season, the majority of them will not see a drastic change in their lavish lifestyles.

Despite all of my feelings towards the haves in the NBA, I do feel badly for the have-nots.

This forgotten group of have-nots includes the millions of people that will be affected by the work stoppage, but will have absolutely no say in it at all.

This is the group that the owners would have you believe they are partially representing in the negotiations, but we all know better.

The have-nots include the 70-year-old ticket-taker that greets you at the door.

Maybe it is a college student who is paying for an education by walking cotton candy up and down the aisles for the entire game. 

How about the single mother who cleans the toilets and takes out the trash in the arena night after night?

Perhaps it is the person in the mascot suit, the ball boys and girls who wipe up sweat, the security guard, the usher that helps you find your seat, or the people who do the laundry after the game.

What about these people who actually make the game what it is on game night? Where is their voice in all of this? Would they vote for a labor stoppage when they can hardly make ends meet as it is?

The list does not stop there. What about the parking lot attendants, the business owners near the arena, the public transportation operators that get people to the game, or the local bartender who depends on game-night tips to feed his family?

Owners and players are naive to think that their little spat only affects them. It affects a whole community of people who are just trying to work for a living, something that the players should realize they are not doing. 

I do understand that it takes hard work to be an athlete, but what are they really doing for society other than providing a distraction and a place for people to pass the time? When it is broken down to its simplest form, it is entertainment, nothing more.

These guys who “deserve” the multi-million dollar contracts are playing a game.

They are not the police men and women or the firefighters that keep us safe. They are not the teachers who are educating our youth and they are certainly not the soldiers who sacrifice their lives to protect our country.

Where are their multi-million dollar contracts for doing something that actually contributes to society?

Maybe while they are sipping on their expensive champagne, or out shopping for a new diamond ring for a wife or girlfriend because the last one is a couple of months old, those that fall on both sides of this dispute will realize how selfishly they are acting.

I just wish they would grow up, figure it all out and get back to playing basketball. Not for the sake of the overpaid players, but for the sake of the unheralded people who truly make the NBA what it is.

In the end, it is not the players, it is the working class who are really being locked out.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.