The above video is a clip of AMC’s newest show Hell on Wheels. It takes place post Civil War when the country was still developing its western roots and recovering from the carnage that had recently took place. The key to the video is the white “Bossman” referring to the black “Freedman” saying, “That man needs to be put in his place.” Last night, on December 8, 2011, 150 years after this show takes place, David Stern (AKA NBA Bossman), basically said in reference to Chris Paul, “That man needs to be put in his place.” Before you huff and puff, and dismiss this correlation as BFox being angry that arguably the best pure point guard in a generation was prevented from being traded to his beloved Los Angeles Lakers, just know I was not completely sold on this trade. That is the least important part of this situation; basketball is second; morality and what is right and wrong take precedence over my favorite sport/team. Last night the league and David Stern set an extremely dangerous precedent (yes I used precedence and precedent in back-to-back sentences, grab a dictionary if you can’t keep up).
In the summer of 2010 Dwayne Wade orchestrated a masterful performance to somehow get the most coveted free agents in the league, Lebron James and Chris Bosh, to come meet him down in South Beach and play a little game called basketball. The way in which Lebron James handled “The Decision” was insensitive, but it was ultimately his decision. That decision sent shockwaves throughout the league as team owners began to realize that the power of the league had been with the players and the owners were limited in what they could do to get a dose of that power.
Later, within the 2010-11 season Carmelo Anthony, whose contract would be running out at season’s end forced his way to the New York Knicks by threatening to sign with them after the season which would leave Denver like Lebron left Cleveland, with nothing. Fast forward to the NBA lockout of 2011. With all of the specifics being discussed, the underlying theme and the true reason a deal took so long to be made, was power. Don’t get it twisted, money was a huge issue, but the real issue was POWER. Throughout the entire negotiation the players treated the owners like the rest of Europe treated Hitler before WWII and appeased them, making concession after concession. Whenever the players met the owners demand the owners dropped the bar asking for more and more. Once the owners had dropped it so low and declared that it was their final offer, the players finally hit back by decertifying the union and threatening legal action. It was enough to get the owners back at the table and hash out a deal that still heavily favored the owners to the tune of $3 billion compared to the previous deal. There were a few concessions by the owners so players were happy that they could get back on the court and save some face. After all the papers were drawn up they were finally signed yesterday afternoon. As David Stern theoretically shook the players hands while stabbing them in the back seizing back any relinquished power in a Julius Caesar, Brutus manner. Before the ink was even dry on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league threw their weight around by vetoing an agreed upon trade sending Chris Paul to the Lakers. Note I said vetoed, not voted. Even though the Hornets are currently collectively owned by the league as a whole, only a few owners had input on whether or not this trade would go through. This was ultimately David Stern’s decision to kibosh this trade. Throughout the entire time the Hornets have been league owned, their front office and GM Dell Demps were allowed to run the team in the way they deemed fit with no interference by the league. The commissioner even stated that Demps would have free reign to make moves and the league would stay out of it. However, last night, Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert wrote a derisive email to Stern and some other owners calling for a vote. Stern did him one better and vetoed the trade himself, never even bringing forth a vote. Stern reportedly didn’t like that the players were dictating where they were going to go. Oh, I’m sorry massa…why don’t you tell me where you want mea go…He was essentially, putting the players in their place.To some, any comparison of the NBA situation to slavery is preposterous, I even waffled to do so, but hear me out. Obviously, this is at a different scale. The atrocities during slavery will hopefully never return, but the underlying theme in slavery is the same as it is in this situation…power. Many will argue how can you compare a millionaire with a slave? Granted, it’s a very simple and effective argument, but watch me do it anyway. The difference between a “working class” person and an NBA player or millionaire is very large in monetary terms.
Another thing, where do we go from here? As Bill Simmons pointed out in his column earlier today the franchises involved and even some other franchises are impacted negatively by this (I need a writing job, if I didn’t have to wake up for work I would have beat all these writers to punch last night). Gasol and Odom are very touchy guys, how are they going to put this behind them and play hard for us again? Did nixing this trade hurt the Lakers morale for good? Also, how can the Hornets front office not feel like lame ducks after finding a great offer for Chris Paul and then being cut off at the knees? How can the players not feel like they are powerless in a system where a few loud mouth whiny owners can influence the commissioner to take such a drastic move?
Luckily, Stern’s power play has seemingly backfired, creating uproar by players, many owners, and mass media. Pacers forward Danny Granger tweeted “Due to the sabotaging of the LA/NO trade by David Stern, and following in the footsteps of my athlete brethren Metta World Peace and Chad Ochocinco, I'm changing my last name to ‘Stern's Bi#&h’” 
Owners of the teams involved in the trade are appealing the decision. Players involved are refusing to report to training camp; Chris Paul is exploring legal action. It’s safe to say that as trying a time the lockout was, this is going to be even worse. This is not going to just go away, nor should it. The league that I love is in shambles and it’s because of David Stern. The man who has been often credited as saving the league has now ruined it because of a power trip. He needs to step down, or reverse the decision to save face and step down. Either way, it’s time that the owners, players, and fans to finally “put that man in his place.”
Owners of the teams involved in the trade are appealing the decision. Players involved are refusing to report to training camp; Chris Paul is exploring legal action. It’s safe to say that as trying a time the lockout was, this is going to be even worse. This is not going to just go away, nor should it. The league that I love is in shambles and it’s because of David Stern. The man who has been often credited as saving the league has now ruined it because of a power trip. He needs to step down, or reverse the decision to save face and step down. Either way, it’s time that the owners, players, and fans to finally “put that man in his place.”
P.S. A lot of people have been saying this shows David Stern is powerless to the small-town owners. The truth is, he has all the power because he is their leader, it’s all happening on his watch. Stern’s problem is that he has lost his gumption and has no balls to stand up to the owners.
Sources:
ESPN
Rotoworld
Yahoo
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