"The Double-Standard of Leadership in Professional Sports."

If the most recent NBA free agency issues surrounding Lebron James, Bosh and Wade have taught us anything, it's probably that ownership and the fans exploit the concept of loyalty, more than players. Owners have historically dismantled teams for purposes of rebuilding, traded players just in time to receive maximum value for declining skills or performed "equal trades" for the purpose of a roster upgrade. Fans have waged media wars against unproductive and "selfish" players often applying pressure to ownership in hopes of forcing a trade. The ability of either of these groups to invoke change within their respective clubs has been championed by society, as a generally accepted practice and a plausible way to rid one's franchise from an "unloyal," money-hungry player or "a cancer in the locker room." Enabled by the overwhelmingly negative perception of being "all about the money," players were typically forced to comply with demands as ownership and fans leveraged heavily on this option during contract negotiation.

Up until recently, the prevailing strategy to win in the NBA called for a substantial roster upgrade where ownership or team leadership, represented by the GM or President of operations would utilize several mechanisms to acquire top talent. Specifically, team leadership would assemble the best available talent through free agency, the draft or trade that fit an adopted coaching scheme where player skill-sets would be matched to the existing skills of key players for enhanced play. Historically, only a couple of teams (Lakers, Celtics, Bulls & Spurs) have displayed the capacity to assemble talented players and the consistent desire to win at all costs. Outside of this list, the other 26 teams have rarely, if ever attempted or been successful in implementing a strategy to win; leaving us to conclude that they show a disinterest in winning, or a incapacity/ineptness in managing a professional club towards a championship banner or are only interested in profits.

In constrast, society has a double-standard view of loyalty when it comes to professional sports where players are held to a different set of standards than are owners and fans. If a player, takes it upon oneself to expedite a similar competitive strategy like a franchise, consorting with other talented professional to form a team and win, then society and ownership show disagreeance in action. And if ever there were a situation that called for such action, then it would be with the professional athlete who is typically bound for employment via the negotiated contract, thus making oneself a business. This would be especially true for the exceptional athlete who may embody an individual franchise's success. So, I applaud these players for their leadership and desire to win, regardless of immediate compensation, and for taking action when ownership/management were unable.