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Washington Times Opinion Piece On Players
[The Washington Times] [Sports]
Published in Washington, D.C. 5am -- October 21, 1998
www.washtimes.com
OPINION
Trying to eat on principle
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By Tom Knott
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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[T]he NBA players know their child-support
payments are in jeopardy after John Feerick
ruled against them Monday.
The 228 players with guaranteed contracts will
not be paid during the lockout, which means the
NBA season will get under way either late next
month or in early December.
The players are accustomed to making love,
not living on a budget, in their spare hours.
No pay, no impasse.
The players will be meeting in Las Vegas
tomorrow, at which time they will let Billy
Hunter know that they have living expenses.
Shawn Kemp, in particular, has a number of
expenses. He has seven children by six women.
He could go to work at a convenience store to
soften the financial blow of the lockout, but
it probably wouldn't pay as well as his job
with the Cavaliers.
The players have been stuck on principle
since July 1. Unfortunately, they can't eat on
principle, and they need to eat to keep up
their energy level to propagate the species.
As you know, the players don't limit their
ups and downs to the court.
They also have a number of other personal
issues, one of which is: It is early Sunday
morning, and do you know where your sport
utility vehicle is, Chris Webber?
Why, it is sitting at the intersection of
18th and K Streets NW, and the driver is
asleep.
Webber has not had a good lockout.
He apparently became a victim of Mark
Fuhrman at an airport in Puerto Rico in August.
It was Fuhrman who planted 11 grams of
marijuana, if not a bloody glove, in Webber's
carry-on bag.
Now someone is sleeping in his vehicle at
the intersection of 18th and K Streets NW.
Friends don't normally let friends sleep
in their vehicle at the intersection of 18th
and K Streets NW.
This just goes to show you that NBA
players are different from ordinary Americans.
You see a sport utility vehicle and think sport
utility vehicle. Webber sees a sport utility
vehicle and thinks bedroom on wheels.
Webber, of course, is taking his show to
Sacramento after he concludes his research of
the city.
Sacramento, given its location on the Left
Coast, probably has at least one intersection
zoned for sleeping.
The union wants to remain relevant,
although it is not easy. Millionaires rarely
make good union members.
The players are not fighting for a
$2-an-hour increase in pay. They are not
fighting to save the whale. They are not sure
what their fight is.
"Some guys might start second-guessing the
union and even talk about decertification,"
Wizards guard Chris Whitney says.
The union is prepared to patch a crack in
the rank and file, even if it means buying
groceries for the players and meeting their
child-support payments.
Hunter claims he was not dismayed by
Feerick's decision. To hear him tell it, he
almost was ecstatic. He called up all his best
friends and planned a celebration.
It is only about money.
Feerick did not have to do the owners a
favor.
But he owed them one after aiding Latrell
Sprewell.
As it turns out, Sprewell did not choke
P.J. Carlesimo. He merely tried to massage his
throat.
"I wasn't choking P.J.," Sprewell says. "I
mean, P.J., he could breathe."
Breathing is good.
That perhaps is more than you can say for
the union.
"Hopefully, we can stay together," Whitney
says.
So the players are down to a hope.
At least they have picked an appropriate
venue to express their concerns. Dennis
Rodman's favorite city is built on false hopes.
"We are not trying to break the union,"
David Stern says.
Breaking the union wouldn't be such a bad
idea.
It might save the players from themselves
the next time they are required to have a clue.
They will be in Las Vegas tomorrow to
figure it all out.
The players want to be taken seriously,
despite evidence to the contrary.
Hopefully, the players won't lend their
vehicles to any sleepyheads.
Copyright © 1998 News World Communications, Inc.