From Madison To Football To LeBron

As we’ve recently seen in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, unions are under siege in this land. When the elected powers-that-be attempt to, say, wipe out the right to collectively bargain and the notion of tenure, of seniority, then its fair to say that the biggest battle of the 21st Century might just be for the right for unions to survive, to exist in this noxious political environment.

Now, are unions perfect? Absolutely not. As with every group devised by man, they’re rife with the same failings and foibles – from corruption to pettiness - as the rest. But what they stand for is something that should be considered sacrosanct: the right for every employee to be treated fairly and with respect in the workplace. It is because of unions that there’s a 40 hour workweek. That there are such things as health benefits, vacations, pensions and other perks - all which are now being assailed - the American worker has for too long taken for granted.

Until now. What was so fascinating about the recent fracas over public employee collective bargaining rights in Madison, Wisconsin - now all-but-wiped off major news network coverage due to the Libyan conflict and the disaster in Japan – was the unmistakable shock on the workers/protesters’ faces. It seemed as if it was totally inconceivable to many of them that they were being treated so shabbily by Scott Walker, a governor, no doubt, many of them had voted for. (It’s kind of like requesting an early morning wake-up call at a hotel and being awoken by a bucket of ice water at the crack of dawn.)

For the most part, many mainstream news outlets and –unsurprisingly - politicians from both major parties steered clear of the Wisconsin commotion. Oh, there might have been a story or two or a couple of comments from afar but, generally, this seemed to be a donnybrook that the powers-that-be wanted no part of.

Except one sports union like the NFLPA - National Football League Players Association - got it. Staring at a then-potential lockout by the NFL owners, they understood the importance of the right to sit at the negotiating table and be heard. That’s why one of the first celebrity supporters of the teacher walkouts was Green Bay Packer great Charles Woodson who eloquently spoke about teammates both past and present who felt the same way he did and about the bravery of the Wisconsin folk who demanded to be heard.

See, America’s a funny place. We take our union battles seriously and – as polls have oft demonstrated – we have a tendency to support the underdog, the prototypical working man. Except when it comes to sports. Perhaps, it’s the exorbitant salaries being tossed around in the papers or the crazy belief that many fans have that if not for certain circumstances in their life – all-too-often a dearth of talent – they too could’ve played pro fill-in-the-blank.

What fans and occasional onlookers repeatedly fail to do is to take a good, hard gaze at the price many professional athletes pay for their entertainment. Look at what happens to so many ex-fighters or football players. Check out a lifetime of excruciating pain. The advanced disintegration of their bodies and, in extreme cases, their minds.

All of this agony so we’ll have something to do on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon. Regardless of the money being paid, many of these athletes are done –out of professional sports - within a few years. (Talk about your services no longer being required.) Even the greatest of the great are toast by age 40. And for a lot of them, it’s their first real view of what really goes down in the real world – like going from Pandora to Times Square – and all that entails. That’s why so many athletes end up broke or in extreme financial distress.

Which is why before the recent lockout, the NFLPA went to great pains to make clear their message to the public. They presented a united front led by such icons as Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. They repeatedly reminded folk that they were not going on strike. That they were being locked out by the owners. That they were fighting for the rights of all – superstars to journeymen alike - of their players/workers. That they were even willing to decertify their union for the purpose of challenging the owners’ antitrust status. That they were going to do whatever it took – within the law – to do their best to protect the rights of their membership.

And isn’t that what we ask, no, demand of our professional athletes? We ask them to try their hardest, to give us their all in pursuit of victory and, ultimately, a championship. And if they fall short of the mark, we praise them for the effort expended.

And isn’t that exactly what LeBron James did throughout his seven year sojourn as a Cleveland Cavalier? This native Ohioan came straight from high school, revitalized a moribund franchise and played the prerequisite NBA-mandated seven seasons before entering the free agency market.

(Now, think about that last requirement and imagined if you had to work 7 years at a job – even one you detested – before you could leave. Seven years before you had the opportunity to upgrade your situation, your life. How fair would you consider that to be?)

During those 7 years, James seemed to single-handedly will his team to victory. In the 2008-2009, he came closest to an NBA championship before losing in the final round. But last season, the Cavs took a decided step backwards failing to get back the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. Furthermore, at the end of the 2009-2010 campaign, Cleveland was without a general manager or coach. Not the most appetizing of scenarios to woo their superstar back.

And so, in a nationally-televised special entitled “The Decision,” LeBron James stated he was joining two other superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play on the Miami Heat. The quote that rankled many was James stating he was ‘taking his talents to South Beach.’ But that’s exactly what he was taking. He never said he was taking his heart, his soul there. He was taking his basketball gifts to a place where he felt he’d have the best shot at winning an NBA championship. If it was about more money or fame, he could’ve just as easily chosen the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets. But he didn’t. He did his time and made a decision based on winning a ring.

It didn’t stop the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, from blasting James as selfish, heartless and cowardly among other tossed epithets. He also charged that James dogged it in a few playoff games preventing the Cavs from winning. That’s right, the same player who averaged in the playoffs 29.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists a game – contrast that to his regular season averages of 27.8, 7.0 and 7.0 respectively – who was responsible for the multitude of sellouts at his home arena, the player named in 2004 youngest Rookie of the Year in NBA history, the reigning two-time Most Valuable Player for the 2009 and 2010 campaigns was accused by his employer of professional malfeasance.

Unsurprisingly, few in the media took up for James. Most took up where Gilbert had left off highlighting the desertion of the loyal Cavalier fan base rather than the mess James was leaving being behind. (And as their pitiful record this season has shown, a mess that James’ talents had covered up for many a year.) As a result of this negative publicity – a tactic many owners and elected officials use to garner support - within months, LeBron James went from being one of professional basketball’s most admired athletes to one of their most despised.

It’s a shame because; James had definitely – thanks to the NBA players union – earned his right of self-determination. It’s that right that America – or at least the idea of America – stands for. It’s the right of every working person no matter the sex, religion or race of that individual. Whether the workplace is a classroom in Madison or a basketball court in Miami; a factory in Newark or the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, the employee has the right to be heard. Think about that the next time you watch a ballgame or a news report. And think about it the next time you head to the ballot box.