The National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) theme song for the 2011-12 player lockout should be  “Oops I Said It Again”.  It seems that a week can’t  go by without a member of the rank and file opening his mouth and putting a dagger into the heart of the the union’s “Hold The Line” stance,  lessening any chance of a season this year.  It appears no lessons on who should speak and who shouldn’t were learned from the 98-99 lockout.

Let’s start with the most recent statement by Chicago Bulls star point guard, Derrick Rose.  In putting all the blame for the lockout on the owners he stated:

“Everyone Knows It’s Not Our(The Players) Fault.” 

I am assuming “everyone” means the judgmental general public.  That’s not quite up there with “I’ve Got My Family To Feed”  but “Everyone”?   There is certainly a percentage of the public that sides with the players.  At what percentage does “everyone” kick in?  90-10?   70-30?   The decidedly non-scientific polls**  I have seen indicate that if we are going to throw the term “everyone” around so loosely it would be more accurate to say that “everyone” sides with the owners.  That is of course not true either but setting aside the large percentage of the public that simply want “everyone” to “shut up and play”,  the public at this moment,  seems to be leaning towards ownership.  What does that tell me with regards to Derrick Rose’s statement?  It tells me  that there is a “detached arrogance” among the NBA “elite” players involved in the process.   They are out of touch with the public perception and my guess is that the same applies to their interaction with their union brethren in the NBA rank and file.  How do I come to that conclusion? Let’s go to example 2.

The  “NBPA  recently held a regional meeting in Los Angeles.  It was first reported that only 20 players showed.  Hardly  a booming endorsement of the player unity claimed by Derek Fisher.  It seemed more a statement of union apathy.  Fisher must have been mad at this figure being reported because it was changed shortly after the original report  to thirty. It went from “almost no one cared” to “hardly anyone cared”.  There is no spin.  It speaks for itself.  People who are engaged in the process show up. They ask questions.  Those who are not, become part of “almost no one cared”.   You don’t have to have a psychology degree to figure that out.   Another ill timed “oops we said it again” reality dagger was when Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee left the meeting and told reporters:

“There’s definitely some guys in there saying that they’re ready to fold, But the majority are ready to stand strong.”

“READY TO FOLD”  The daggers don’t go much deeper into the heart of NBPA spin than that.  Derrick Fisher of course did his best at damage control but his spin stuck the dagger in even deeper by being logically inept.  He attempted to imply that no one should be listening to McGee because he was not present for the entire meeting.  The logical fallacy of that is that most of  the NBA rank and file was not in the room for any of the meeting.  The public could interpret Fisher’s spin as saying “we don’t care about the people not in the room.”  Even more brutal, his own rank and file could come to the same conclusion.  We know that’s not true but perception is reality.   While  insanely stupid to say publicly,  McGee gave Fisher honest input more valuable than any social media “stand united” campaign.   He told Fisher that  instead of a few guys tweeting from an NBPA cue card, Fisher should be very concerned about the guys “not in the room”   They are the majority who will decide ratification.  The guys “not in the room”  are talking to each and clearly not talking to Derek Fisher.  Whose  fault is that?

Fisher also had his “I did it again” moment” when he stated that he was “disappointed” with the meeting turnout. He must have realized how bad that sounded and denied he said it because the quote mysteriously disappeared from a later version of the ESPN.com reporting on the meeting.

We also have this reported occurrence: “On Friday, a role player for a middling team got a surprise phone call, from just about the biggest name in the sport — somebody who had never called him before. The message: Hold firm at 53. We’re not caving. Hang in there…”

I am trying to figure out how making that public  is a positive for the union.  Was this part of a 3 hour conversation on the issues so this player who the “biggest name in the sports”  whom the role player had never spoken to before knows why to hold the line?  What I took out of it is the player got the equivalent of a “robocall” from someone he has never had personal interaction with and who never took any interest in his life before the call.  When you got those recording calls from election candidates acting like they were your next door neighbor were you  swayed or annoyed?  I was annoyed.

Enter Stage left Clippers guard Eric Gordon.  Keep in mind that this is a AFTER the Los Angles meeting  fiasco and was meant to be spin control.  Apparently thinking he was saying the right thing in response to whether the rank and file would fold  he stated:

“It’s hard to say, but I don’t think the players are going to give up so easily,””

What I heard was “its hard to say“.   Is it “hard to say” or does he think they “won’t fold “so easily”?   It can’t be both.   We won’t even get into what the qualifier “easily” means.  Hardly a ringing endorsement for “holding the line”.

That is not to say that there are not articulate players who are saying all the right things.  The problem with that is we expect it and toss it aside mentally. It’s the gaffes and contrarian remarks everyone remembers.

Stayed tuned for the next chapter of  “Oops We Said It Again”.

**LA Times poll.  Bleacher Report poll.

Delonte West must not have been paying attention when the NBA players union began warning players by some reports up to four years ago, to forgo the swag  and extra Bentley in anticipation of the work stoppage that has paralyzed the NBA to date.  Despite earning 14 millions dollars during his NBA career, he is apparently unable to make ends meet.  He is now employed at Regency Furniture Showrooms, in order to “stay afloat during the lockout.”   He had also applied to Home Depot prior to accepting the Regency Position that probably pays no more than 10-15 dollars an hour.  Is Delonte the exception to the rule of players who actually listened and who had agents with balls enough to demand that they engage in sound financial planning at risk of losing a client?  We will not know until paychecks start being missedbut basic human psychology and previous experience says that the Home Depot ranks may well swell with high priced inventory stockers and price checkers if the NBA lockout does not resolve soon.  While Delonte’s situation is unique in that his criminal record prevents him from playing overseas it will prove to be very common in terms of players who are living paycheck to paycheck and need to feed the nut one way or another if they can’t land an overseas gig.  It’s not like this is a new phenomenon or there are no case studies for players to look at and take a serious view of their potential financial situations.

We all played our violins to death when we heard of Latrell Sprewell’s financial troubles. On Halloween 2004, Sprewell, who was in the final season of a $62-million five-year contract with the New York Knicks, said he was insulted by the Minnesota Timberwolve’s offer of a contract extension that was reportedly worth between $27 million and $30 million for three seasons. Sprewell stated, “I’ve got my family to feed.” That quote become a national moniker for the public perception of athletes as greedy, out of touch individuals. Apparently, Sprewell still can’t feed his family. His yacht was  repossessed and his home faced foreclosure. He also reportedly owes  $3.5 million in back income taxes to the state of Wisconsin.

While there is certainly the stereotype of the financially irresponsible NBA athlete, no professional sport is immune.

Let’s take a look at some high profile athlete financial sob stories over the years:

1. No one my age can forget Jack”The Ripper” Clark , star player for the Boston Red Sox who filed for bankruptcy in 1992 in the middle of his second year of a three-year, $8.7 million contract with Boston; he listed $6.7 million in debts. Jack was a master of financial planning and prudent asset acquisition. His bankruptcy petition listed assets such as 18 automobiles, including a 1990 Ferrari that cost $717,000 and three 1992 Mercedes Benz cars costing between $103,000 and $143,000. He owed money on 17 of the automobiles and was liable for about $400,000 in Federal and state taxes. He had also lost about $1 million in a drag-racing venture. Sounds like Jack would have been more at home in the NBA. You can read about it here

2. Johnny Unitas, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Baltimore Colts, filed for bankruptcy in 1991 citing numerous failed business ventures in his petition These failed bits included bowling alleys, land deals and restaurants. He filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991.

3. Mike Tyson The name speaks for itself. Mike’s bankruptcy was highly publicized. Despite earning hundreds of millions during his boxing career, Mike kept it simple. His bankruptcy petition simply stated: ” I am unable to pay my bills”. According to federal court records, his liabilities totaled about $27 million. You can read that story here.

4. Dorothy Hamill, the women’s figure-skating gold medalist in the 1976 Winter Games, filed for bankruptcy after a series of financial setbacks. Hamill said she has experienced financial setbacks as a result of poor financial investment advice and management.

5.  Derrick Coleman:  Coleman’send-game’ list of assets in his bankruptcy petition consisted of  a Seadoo watercraft, his NBA pension, 1957 Buick convertible, worth $20,000; a 1970 Chevrolet Nova, worth $5,000; and a 1997 Bentley convertible, valued at $50,000 and some fur coats.

6.   Antoine Walker: Despite earning a reported $110 million over the course of his 13-year NBA career, former player Antoine Walker is apparently broke.  In 2011 Walker pleaded guilty to one felony count of passing a bad check with regards to 770k in gambling debts.

These are just a few of many athletes’ tales of woe. It is not a phenomenon limited to professional sports — just ask M.C Hammer. Prior to his declaring bankruptcy, it was made public that his day to day living expenses far exceeded his income of $33 million. If I am going to veer off to celebrities, I certainly have to mention Kim Basinger and Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage.

When the Toronto Star ran an article alleging that a shocking 60 percent of NBA athletes “go broke” five years after retiring, did we not all pull out that very tiny violin we have reserved for such occasions? The NBA players union and the NBA have both disputed that assertion. The article goes on to talk about all the people taking advantage of and “scamming” these athletes. While I have no doubt there is truth to this, I can also understand how such a generalization would make the NBA uncomfortable. It leaves you with the impression that 60 percent of NBA players are not only financially inept but also idiots in general. This is simply not true. While good business sense is often lacking, I view many of their mistakes as being more mistakes of trust, credibility and lack of life experience than anything else. Smart, busy people who can afford it, hire people with targeted expertise to help them. This allows them to focus on their expertise. Sometime mistakes are made and bad judgment is used in who we hire and hang out with. That is not unique to the NBA or professional sports. This happens to everyone. That is life. It happens all the time. It just does not make front page when we screw up. If there is any question at all as to how badly we as the general public screw up, just look at the personal bankruptcy filing statistics.

In order to get a perspective from the inside, I contacted Jordan Woy, a highly respected sports agent and a principal in the sports marketing/management firm of Schlegel Sports. Jordan has represented numerous high profile athletes

Here is what Jordon had to say:

I think there are several reasons why so many athletes “go broke”. First, whether it is a lottery winner, an athlete or a star entertainer, if they are not equipped with the knowledge on how to make and save money they are in trouble. When they didn’t earn it through disciplined business practices and they don’t have those skills they usually go through it quickly. Most lottery winners or athletes make a great deal of money in a short period of time. They start spending it on things that only go down in value (cars, jewelry, partying, entourage, etc) and start to evaporate the money they do have. They can carry this off until they stop earning big money. This is when the trouble starts. It is hard to believe that MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and now Ed McMahon are broke. These are people who earned hundreds of millions over time and it disappeared. Lavish spending and entourages were probably the downfall for the first three for sure.

Most athletes play for four to ten years if they are lucky. After they pay taxes (can be 40 to 50%) and agent fees and buy their first homes, cars, outfits, jewelry (plus, cars, clothes and jewelry for friends and family), they are left with very little. When they first “strike it rich” all of their longtime friends and family expect help. Most athletes feel obligated to help everyone out at first then they wise up. They also want to keep up with their teammates. If someone buys a Bentley, they have to buy one; if someone buys a $75,000 watch, they have to buy one to keep up the appearance. Then, of course, when the career ends and they are still living in a multi million dollar house, driving 3 expensive cars (and insurance), traveling in private planes and taking Limo’s when they go out on the town, reality sets in. The money dries up very quickly.

However, if athletes educate themselves, learn money management skills and make smart, safe investments along the way, they are usually in very good shape. After representing athletes for over 20 years, we call this our “life plan”. We take out clients on working vacations in the off season to places like Las Vegas, Cancun and on a cruise to the Bahamas to learn business networking. We have people from industries such as real estate, oil and gas, financial planning, credit repair, asset protection/estate planning, etc come to educate the players and their wives so they can learn about these business and also determine if they are interested in any of these industries for life after sports. One of the financial planners who comes always says most people die coming down from Mt. Everest not going up. The goal is for these athletes to get to their Mt. Everest AND to get down safely.

So, what do you think? Are the financial mistakes that athletes make any different than your mistakes or mine? They are certainly mistakes made with a higher downside. When we hear these stories are we just unable to comprehend that someone could have that much money and spend it all? Can we learn lessons on how to live our lives from their highly publicized financial gaffes? Do we even care at all?

With all due respect to Latrell Sprewell and Delonte West, we have our own families to feed

I cried like a baby when I listened to the 911 call of U.S. Olympic skier Jeret “Speedy” Peterson.  He made the call asking for someone to come and get his body moments before he took his own life. Jeret reportedly had long struggled with depression and alcoholism. I did not cry because I knew him or was a fan in any way.  I cried because I felt his pain.  I cried because every word he spoke were words that I often thought about repeating into a phone before I took my own life.  I cried because he did not have to die.

Like Jeret I have have long struggled with depression. Like Jeret I have abused alcohol to deal with it.  Not the fleeting kind  of depression you suffer when your NBA team is eliminated from the playoffs.  The kind that sometimes results in life changing and like Jerrett and many others, life ending decisions .  The ugly “S” word.  The journey associated with the often daily battle through fog and fear has taken me down many a dark road.   I have seen people I know, unable to find answers or hope take the journey into the abyss from which there is no return.  As I sadly read of  theirs and Jeret’s decision to take that final jump into the final darkness, terminating the future,  I am reminded of how all so fast it can happen.

This  slide into darkness has its own unique components for different people. Some are luckier than others in the support they get or their ability to reach out for that support.   I was very lucky.  I had everyone who loved me living in my city and within a few miles of me.  They were all in my life and knew my routines. That is what saved me. If I did not have that I would be dead.

I do not remember placing the Italian 45-caliber automatic pistol that my best friend had given me for a gift on my nightstand. I do not remember emailing him for bullets.  I do not remember emailing others of my desire to end my life. I realize now that it was my way of reaching out for help.  My only memory of those terrible few days on the edge 6 years ago was being  wakened out  of a Xanax stupor by people who cared for me, the pistol sitting inches away from me.   It happens that easy.   It was all so easy to slide in the fog from a Xanax coma to a 45 cal bullet.  It did not happen.  People loved me, cared and intervened.

While I think I have suffered from depression since I was a child, I do not have any sense of time in its effects as you have to realize it’s an issue to start the clock.   It has had its ups and downs.  Despite what Tom Cruise will have you believe, medication works. Talking to professionals helps. Having a family that loves me, recognized something was wrong and was willing to intervene is something that many who suffer do not have. I am very lucky.

There however was one dark period that the low was so low and the fog of depression was so great that I only have vague memories of literally living on the edge of permanent darkness.

I have thought about telling this story before. I have always backed off because of self-interest.  I did not want to be perceived as weak.  I did not want to be stereotyped, stigmatized or shamed.  I did not want sympathy.  In the end, it is what it is.  If someone can take the message from this that there is hope and recovery from the edge of darkness to happiness and accomplishment in life. If someone will see that reaching out even when you do not want to has the greatest up side at all.  If one person gets that I will take all the  S’s people can throw at me.  My heart goes out to Jeret’s family and all those who knew him who are casualties of the collateral damage that depression inflicts.

Was listening to Mike and Mike today on ESPN radio.   They were discussing the decision of University of  New Mexico basketball coach Steve Alford to institute a blanket ban on tweeting.  My immediate thought was that New Mexico is obviously a state school which brings the 1st Amendment into any analysis.  The 1st Amendment limits the ability of the the government to suppress speech except in very limits and defined circumstances.   A state school is “the government” and Alford is their agent hence the 1st Amendment issue.  If this was Notre Dame coach Mike Brey instituting the ban, it’s a non-issue from a 1st Amendment standpoint.  Notre Dame is a private school and the 1st Amendment is therefore not applicable with the exception of California which extends 1st Amendment protection to private colleges and universities through the Leonard Law.

The bottom line is that in my opinion, while Alford can take action against players for specific Tweets  that constitute a substantial disruption  of team activities, an across the board ban will not withstand a 1st Amendment challenge. It is in effect a prior restraint speech without even knowing what that speech will be.  While the 1st amendment is being squashed, practically it makes little difference.  Would not go over to well team chemistry wise for a player to challenge such a ban and what are the chances anyone at the ACLU is a an LOBOS fan?