No sports fan likes it when there’s a lockout. It really
affects everyone in one way or the other. The longer the wait on an agreement,
the longer there’s no games to play or to watch. In the case of the NBA the disagreement
was between the owners and the league in relation to the CBA. While everyone
was waiting for an agreement it caused the loss of games which meant loss of money.
Some owners were willing to go 50/50 with the league but then you had some that
weren’t willing to go below 52 percent. Players wanted to keep a similar system
like the old one. They thought that there were too many restrictions in the
owner’s proposal. As this lockout is going on, the people that work at these
arenas are affected too. Everyday people with normal lives don’t get a
paycheck. In my opinion, the fact that the players make the team, I didn’t
think there should be a 50/50 split either. After 161 days, they finally came to an agreement of 49/51.2
split, a flexible salary cap but harsher luxury tax. This lockout had a
negative impact on the economy due to the large NBA cities losing revenue that
was generated by the games and television networks losing ratings as well as
advertisement revenue.
Even though it was eventually settled, I look at this as a
factor when working in the sports field.
The NBA has had four lockouts. There’s no telling if another one will
occur. It doesn’t really matter what league you decide to get into because they
all have went through a lockout before. I understand that agreements need to be
made. I just hope that this doesn’t happen once I get in the field but if it does,
I got to have a back up plan so I am not majorly affected by it. I love sports
and with anything you have to take the good with the bad. It’s all an
experience.
