NBA Lockout Cancels First Two Weeks of Season, Players Tweet

On Monday October 10^th, the NBA announced that it would be cancelling the first two weeks of the 2011-2012 season, due to the lockout. In more than a decade it will be the first time that regular season games will be cancelled. For NBA players, team owners, and fans as the NBA lockout remains, the outlook for the rest of the season is bleak. In a report by the Detroit Free Press, Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon says, “the two weeks is just the tip of the iceberg” and that the lockout could last a “year or two.”

After meeting for five-and-a-half hours on Sunday night, Commissioner David Stern had set the Monday deadline for a new labor agreement to be reached to save the first two weeks of the season, which is exactly 100 games. Stern was cited as saying that the deadline needed to be reached by Monday for logistical purposes. After the meetings that took place on Monday, Stern said that the two sides were “very, very far apart” on a new CBA and that the longer the lockout lasts, the more team owners will try to recoup monetary losses from cancelled games.

Since the cancellation was announced, NBA players have been reaching out to fans via Twitter regarding the negotiations and lockout. After the announcement, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns went on a tweeting rampage with, “Why are the owners unwilling to negotiate in good faith? As a player I apologize to the fans that we’re in this position… The players are negotiating to take less money & let’s be clear that’s not going to lower ticket prices, it just lines the owners pockets.”  From Lebron to Carmello to Marcus Thornton Sacramento Kings, NBA players are letting their voices be heard.

Another superstar who has emerged as a leading voice for the players’ cause is Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade. In his tweet to fans, he stated that the real people hurting from the lockout are the fans, workers of the NBA arenas, and local businesses.

There may  not be an end to the lockout in sight, but as fans all we can do is voice our opinion and urge the team owners and players to settle their dispute quickly; and just sit and wait in the meantime.

 References:

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/10/labor-monday.ap/index.html##?ls=iref:nbahpt1

http://www.freep.com/article/20111012/SPORTS03/110120436/1051/sports03

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/feed/2010-10/nba-labor/story/players-tweet-in-reaction-to-cancellation-of-nba-games