1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Not all NBA players are selfish jerks, after all

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Batman, Mar 16, 2011.

  1. Some Guy

    Some Guy Active Member

    In all seriousness, are teams really expected to pay their employees' medical expenses outside of insurance premiums?

    I've I got cancer, I wouldn't expect my company to cut me a $70,000 check to cover costs.

    Sterling is a dick for reasons that go beyond this, and it would have been nice for him to fork over the dough, but I'm not sure that it's mandatory.
     
  2. D-3 Fan

    D-3 Fan Well-Known Member

    Sterling, and it's not even close anymore. The longer he's stays put and the more shit he does, the worse he is as an owner.

    The MLB and their owners, as bumbling as they are, did the right thing. The NBA and their owners don't give a damn as long as Sterling turns a profit and let him do whatever the hell he wants.

    And he does keep his mouth shut, unless he's calling Baron Davis fat.
     
  3. qtlaw

    qtlaw Well-Known Member

    Great to hear about these types of things.

    Now if only Maggette had shown the same unselfishness on the court......(Warriors fan here.)
     
  4. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    Two Duke guys, I bet the assistant coach was white. [/JalenRose]
     
  5. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    No Duke references until the 16th post. Y'all are slippin'.
     
  6. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    1. Sterling is a mega-multimillionaire and the Clippers make tons of money

    2. It might help if he provided .... uhhh, I was considering an incredibly racist metaphor here... "affluent people's" health insurance for his employees in the first place.

    But being a penny-pinching fucking asshole, of course that was out of the question.
     
  7. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    I had a couple of questions when I first heard about this:

    1) How was it that $70K of expenses weren't covered by insurance?
    2) How come an NBA assistant coach can't come up with $70K for medical expenses to save his own life?

    Re: 1), I've heard talk that the coach sought out care from an out-of-network provider, which meant that insurance coverage was dramatically less. Same thing would happen to most working stiffs with insurance if they didn't use the doctors mandated by the plan.

    And re: 2), let's face it, NBA assistant coaches all make salaries well into six figures. Even with the Clippers. Should an assistant really need people to chip in for such costs?

    Sterling as scumbag? Completely valid but separate issue. I just think a lot of our employers would handle this the same way if we went out of network for care. And at the income level of NBA assistant coaches, we'd be expected to handle a $70K bill ourselves, payment plan or whatever.

    I know quite a few millionaires on friendly terms, but none of them would -- nor would I expect -- them to whip out their checkbooks to pick up expenses for me or mine.
     
  8. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I just read a story where, when Suzyn Waldman had breast cancer in 1996, George Steinbrenner made sure there was refrigerators in every hotel room for her medication, and took care of other matters as well.

    And I've read other stories of Yankee employees where they had personal crisises, only to be told that all the financial needs were met. It was Steinbrenner who paid the bill.

    For someone who was such an asshole to his employees for the majority of the time, at least Steinbrenner came through when they needed him.

    Donnie Sterling, on the other hand, only gives a shit about himself, and deserves every single criticism directed at him.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page