[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Michael Holley On Bruce Bowen
For Bowen, NBA lockout rich in irony
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 08/14/98
By now, spaces such as this one should be filled
with NBA debates. We could all be arguing about
how we don't understand the Celtics' fascination with
Matt Geiger. Or why the team even considered trading Ron
Mercer before the draft. We could even pretend to be
know-it-all owners, suggesting to Paul Gaston how much
money he should spend, if any, on Antoine Walker.
At least we would be having a conversation. Leaders of
the NBA Players Association can't say that. Neither can
NBA owners. Representatives of both went to a meeting
last week and acted as if they were crazed children of
Bill Gates, obnoxious rich kids scuffling over billions
of dollars. When somebody couldn't get their way - who
really cares who it was? - the story is that
representatives of the league picked up their
metaphorical ball, in this case million-dollar paperwork,
and went home.
And that's all we see, isn't it? Owners incapable of
saying what kids say every day: ``Peace.'' Players
believing they are selling themselves out if they whisper
the phrase, ``We have enough.'' You would think that
basketball's heart beats inside an antiseptic monster,
cursed with no soul and capable only of babbling, ``I
love this game.'' You would think that the only life
coursing through the monster is a love of money, houses,
cars, and groupies. Perhaps you saw the league's
transparent PR move of giving money back, with interest,
to season ticket-holders if games are missed, as if the
owners didn't initiate the lockout. Maybe you are close
to thinking that all players are tangled in the
cash-driven monsoon that has characterized the 1990s.
Then you talk to a man named Bruce Bowen.
Bowen is the very human NBA face often lost in the boring
bluster over licensing rights, three-year guaranteed
rookie contracts, and Larry Bird Exceptions. The
6-foot-7-inch Celtics forward-guard is the eldest of four
children. Many days this summer, he has been at his
parents' home in Long Beach, Calif., making sure his
siblings - 21, 20, and 17 - are doing all right when his
parents aren't home. Bowen grossed $425,000 last year,
the most money he has ever made. A strong Christian who
lives by the tithing instructions in the Bible's Book of
Malachi (giving 10 percent of your income), Bowen
immediately gave $42,000 to the church pastored by his
father. ``I thank God I was even in a position to do
that,'' he said. ``That money belongs to him.''
That's easy to say when you are a rich man; Bowen is not
rich. That's not to suggest you will see him outside
Store 24 tomorrow asking for spare change. But he has a
few things in common with many basketball fans: He is
ready for the games to start; he knows what it means to
save and budget his money; and if his employers don't
invite him back to work soon, he's not ashamed to go
looking for work.
``I have a few friends who own different businesses,'' he
said. ``If I needed to, I wouldn't have a problem going
to them and saying, `Hey, I'm in a tight spot right now.]
Can you help me out?'''
It's ironic: Bowen plays in the NBA, but no one is truly
speaking for him. Yes, he is a part of the Players
Association like everyone else. And he says all the right
things, pointing out that the group is more unified now
than it was three years ago. But there are many players
who are vacationing around the world right now, living
off endorsement money. Bowen? The other day, he was at
his parents' house trying to devise a plan to use the
phone before his sisters secured it for who knows how
long. There are many owners playing round after round of
golf, getting labor updates on their cell phones. Bowen
stays in shape by running with his cousin Terry and goes
down the road to Fresno and uses the facilities there.
This is not a rich man's tale:
During the 1996-97 season, Bowen took the money he earned
with the Miami Heat - about $30,000 - and put some of it
in a certificate of deposit. His plan then was to pay
bills, budget money, and find another job. You have heard
a lot about guaranteed contracts. Bowen's deal was not
guaranteed. So he played in the summer, hoping someone
would see him. Celtics general manager Chris Wallace did,
and the team signed him last July. His first Celtics
paycheck wasn't due until Nov. 15. He didn't want to, but
he had to take money from his CD before Nov. 15.
We all understand that there are families around the
country who survive on a 10th of Bowen's income. Bowen
understands that, too. But he has not lost sight of what
money is during this six-week lockout, a lockout many
predict will last until December.
``I still can't get over a check I had to write last
year,'' said Bowen, who makes nearly $2 million less than
the average NBA player. ``I was buying my place in
Boston. The seller said, `That will be $16,893.' I said,
`You mean $1,600-something?' And she said it again. I
couldn't believe it.
``Look, I value the dollar. Some of my teammates can drop
$1,000 like it's nothing. I still look kind of funny at
$50. Some guys are at the point where they don't really
have to budget. I'm not like that.''
He thought about that many times when Cedric Maxwell
nicknamed him ``Dangerfield'' because NBA officials
didn't give him any respect when it came to calls last
season. He thought about it for a while because there is
a price to be paid for mouthing off to officials. Get
three technicals and you're already out $1,500. Or think
of it this way: Walker has cost himself $15,000 in two
seasons for snapping at officials. Bowen was fined once
last season - ``I was one minute late'' - and was sick
about it.
The NBA and its players should be sick about something
else. Baseball was resuscitated this year by the home
run. If the games stop, what will revive basketball? The
dunk? The 3-point shot? A retired Michael Jordan? And so
the lockout rages on. It is a private party. If you are a
basketball fan, have warm flesh, and know what it means
to worry about next month's rent, you'll never understand
how either side can say it loves its game.
This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on
08/14/98.
© Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.
------------------------------------------------------------