The Hunger Games

(This article was originally published by A Sports Syndicate)

     The thing with wars is both sides think they're doing the right thing; that's why they're willing to sacrifice resources, and even lives to win.  In this information age, both sides even take to media to manifest their principles and try to convince people to join their side.      

     In the latest war called the NBA Lockout, it's much of the same.  Both sides proudly puff their chest and state their sides' steadfastness in their beliefs.  They are willing to wait it out, even it goes two years, they say.  Each side has made their public statements to the media as well, determined to swing public sympathy on their side.


     The other thing about wars though, is that no matter which side wins, everyone else on the sidelines suffer.  In any war, there is always collateral damage and in the NBA Lockout, the damage is tremendous.

     Forget us fans.  We suffer from the lack of games but we can survive.  Heck, in the Philippines we can get our fill from Vintage NBA and our own Philippine Basketball Association; we'll survive.  The true victims of this war are in the North America, in 28 U.S. states and 1 Canadian province.  

     With every NBA franchise comes an arena and the businesses surrounding it.  In the arenas, you have ticket takers, concessionaire stand staff, ushers, security staff and cleaning/maintenance staff.  Around arenas, you have restaurants and bars that staff hundreds of cooks and waiters and other stores that sell team merchandise among others.  With every passing day of posturing and preening from both the owners and the players, business and income go down and bills pile up for arena and restaurant staff. As the players "fight for what is right" and the owners "make business decisions that can curb losses" the restaurant and arena staff take on the real fight, the fight to earn for their kids, to pay for the mortgages and to earn enough not to go hungry.

     In truth, the NBA Lockout is a complicated problem.  The profit sharing, the salary cap structure; they are all very deeply complicated.  Players do have a point and so do the owners and yes they are well in their rights to fight for their principles.  As another week passes however, and another round of rhetoric is given on why the NBA team owners and the players cannot come to an agreement, both sides should probably remember something more important than their principles.  Yes, going down from 57 % profit to 50% profit for the NBA players or the owners giving up on their hard cap policy is an attack on their principles, but either way both sides still get paid. The key phrases in their argument are "profit sharing" and "salary," and that means that whatever happens in their war, both sides will have profits and salaries.   For the arena and restaurant staff, though, they will have less and less of both, as long the NBA Lockout war keeps going.   


      Principles determine and define people and so they need to be defended and protected, but nothing trumps beating hunger. That is more than a principle; it's a basic human right.