NBA停擺掌門人是頭號罪人

????當然，金錢損失是相對的。目前的僵局傷害最大的，并非NBA的球員，而是聯盟的雇工和球迷。“鐵桿球迷是不會拋棄NBA的，”明尼蘇達大學（University of Minnesota）的羅斯說。他補充說，但大多數球迷只是奔著比賽的觀賞性去看的，如果停擺繼續的話，他們就會便宜行事，把錢花在其他項目上。

????一旦百萬富翁們爭吵完了，球迷們通常還是會原諒他們。今年夏天，在全美橄欖球聯盟（NFL）總裁羅杰?古德爾與球員協會達成協議，終止了一段幾乎延續了5個月的停擺期之后，球迷們原諒了NFL。斯特恩本人也曾經在1998-99賽季解決了一場停擺事件；雖然那個賽季的賽程縮短了，但問題解決之后，各隊依然有足夠的時間打上50場比賽（正常的比賽場次是82場）。

????斯特恩的總裁寶座目前還沒不會受到威脅，如果球隊老板覺得他們在接下來的談判進程中他能充分代表資方的利益，那就更是如此。相關各方都明白，職業體育聯盟出現停擺事件是正常不過的事情，停擺總是令人不快的。盡管如此，“我還是認為，這件事絕對是職業體育史上最丑陋的一幕，”塞弗里德說。盡管斯特恩為聯盟做出了杰出的貢獻，但停擺事件的罪責最終還是會落到這位NBA總裁的頭上。

????譯者：任文科

??? Financial suicide is relative, of course. And the people hurt the most by the stalemate are non-player NBA employees and fans. "Your diehard NBA fans, they won't defect," says University of Minnesota's Ross. But most fans watch sports for the drama of the game, he adds, and they will take their discretionary dollars elsewhere if the lockout continues.

??? Fans tend to be forgiving after the millionaire bickering ends. They forgave the NFL after commissioner Roger Goodell sealed an agreement this summer with the NFL player's association, ending a nearly five-month-long lockout. And Stern himself navigated an NBA lockout during the 1998-99 season; it ate into the schedule, but the issues were resolved with enough time for each team to get in 50 games instead of the normal 82.

??? Stern's job isn't in any immediate danger, especially if the owners feel well-represented during the rest of these talks. Everyone involved understands that lockouts happen in professional sports, and they are always a bummer. Still, Seifried says, "I would definitely elevate this as one of the uglier ones we've seen." And despite all he has done for the league, that's ultimately on the commissioner.