Dwight Howard said his coalition – which also includes Kyrie Irving and Avery Bradley – wasn’t trying to halt the NBA’s resumption.
But some players still have concerns about playing at Disney World amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow on Instagram:
As far it being all about the money… Well, yeah. The NBA doesn’t exist because basketball serves the great good. The NBA is a business to make money. Basketball and safety are considerations toward the main goal, but the main goal is money.
If Winslow believes the NBA’s plan is unsafe, he should advocate for it to be changed. Irving did a great job of inviting that discussion after the National Basketball Players Association (of which Irving is ironically a vice president) failed to gain a full understanding of its members’ priorities. Experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have praised the NBA’s plan. But they don’t have to live in the bubble. Winslow would.
If the NBA proceeds with a plan Winslow deems too unsafe, he shouldn’t play. That could cost him $1,123,110 plus $140,389 for each play-in and playoff game Memphis plays up to a total of $1,965,443 in lost wages.*
*Winslow was sidelined with a back injury when the NBA suspended its season. But he said in April, “I’m pain-free and symptom-free. So I plan to get right back into the swing of things when everything resumes.” So, it’s unclear whether he’d get an injury exemption and full salary.
Coronavirus has disrupted safety around the world. Many – businesses and employees – are still trying to make money amid the pandemic. Everyone must evaluate their own risk tolerance. It isn’t fun. It isn’t easy.
But it’s the unfortunate situation Winslow – and many others, within the NBA and beyond – are in.