NBA Lockout: How Fans Are the Real Victims

It seems every single time I turn on ESPN these days, a new breaking news update details some brand new development in the NBA lockout situation.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of it. 

When the NFL players were locked out, I genuinely followed the news with great interest. There was a legitimate gripe between the players and the owners, and they settled it like adults.

Yes, both sides wanted a better deal in the NFL's situation, but they maturely went about their business. The players and owners weren't greedy and were able to come to an amicable solution that was beneficial to both sides. 

In contrast, the NBA lockout negotiation is being conducted as if it were children running things on both sides. Specifically, the players are being unbelievably selfish and greedy. They used to get 57 percent of the revenue, which was far too high to begin with.

The owners were losing money in a league where the average player salary was over $5 million, which is crazy compared to the average salary in the NFL.

Yet the players are still blind to the fact they don't have the upper hand in these negotiations, and they'll start realizing it when the checks stop and their bills pile up. 

The only parties that will benefit from the continued greed in the NBA lockout situations are the lawyers, who are dealing with litigation that could stretch on for quite some time.

It pains me to think the players and owners may let down those that support their livelihoods. The fans. Without the fans, who spend their hard-earned money on tickets, jerseys and video games, the NBA wouldn't even be able to fight over billions of dollars.

The fans are the ones who are truly being hurt by the NBA lockout. Maybe if Billy Hunter and David Stern paused for a moment to contemplate that fact, they'd be able to sit down like the grown men they are and hammer out a deal.

Until they realize this fact, the fans will continue to agonize over the lockout, something a true fan of the NBA doesn't deserve and shouldn't have to do.