[dude1394]

Funny how cute Nellie gets a pass but as someone said, no one else does. It must be a race thing.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_6327546

Nelson should be held accountable for contract stance


THE DOUBLE STANDARD is amazing.

So, let me get this straight, Warriors coach Don Nelson gets to hold out for more money and no one has a problem with that? He gets to disregard the contract he signed and there is no uproar?

Wonder what would be the response if a player were to pull such a stunt. No need to wonder, really, because it's been done before. For instance, Terrell Owens took a verbal beating when he threatened to hold out in 2005 (remember the topless sit-ups in the driveway?) because he was upset with being like the 10th highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. New England receiver Deion Branch didn't get any sympathy last summer when he held out for a lucrative contract extension -- and he was the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

There is typically no shortage of sports talk radio hosts, columnists, bloggers and message boarders spouting about how today's players are selfish, money-grubbing divas who don't love the game. It's partly because they don't live up to their contracts, they use their leverage for personal gain at the expense of their team, they milk injuries and pout until they get what they want.

Now that Nelson is doing such, again, what does that make him? Certainly not an ambassador for basketball, and definitely not a model leader for a franchise that preaches chemistry and team-over-individual.

What's more, the way Nelson handled this should be drawing more ire from us. Remember, this started because Nelson said he may not come back because
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he's tired and the season was taxing, etc. It was practically a health issue, and it's perfectly legitimate for a 67-year-old to think twice about putting himself through the grind of an NBA season.

But, somehow, his return is widely accepted (and unrefuted) as now hinging upon the Warriors making him feel appreciated and loved -- expressed, of course, in the form of guaranteed money. When did that switch happen, or was that the reason all along? You be the judge.

Whenever it happened, isn't that the gist of Owens' antics? Yet he's the poster boy for everything that's wrong with sports. Wasn't point guard Baron Davis, when he was with Charlotte, just looking for appreciation and love when he took forever to return from ainjury in 2004-05? He took some potshots when he was suddenly healthy enough to play right before the trade deadline, which many assumed was a play to increase his trade value. Now, he has a reputation as a me-over-team kind of guy, which is one of the reasons the Warriors got him for so cheap.

Nelson, on the other hand, does pretty much the same thing, but he's regarded as the model for today's businessman, savvy and opportunistic.

You usually won't find a problem here with anybody getting every nickel they can, because it is a business, and business only stays fair when everyone looks out for themselves. The only problem from this perspective is with our divvying out of the criticism, how we're so ready to jump all over these players for doing exactly what Nelson is doing, yet Nelson gets a free pass -- even encouragement.

Sure, Nellie is a great coach and a lovable personality. But he should get the business, too, for being selfish and greedy. That, or we need to stop the ever-so-trite crying about this selfish generation of athletes.

Seriously, what if guard Monta Ellis -- who made $664,209 last season and will make just $770,210 this season -- decided to sit out this coming season unless he gets a phat raise. Being the reigning Most Improved Player and reputed future star, he can afford to forfeit this year's salary because he has a guaranteed pay day waiting for him as a free agent next offseason.

But if he did that, if he pulled a stunt like that, Ellis would go from beloved to the third thief on the cross. We, as fans and media, would call him selfish and greedy and immoral for not living up to his contract.

Well, where's the outcry for Nellie doing it? Where are the darts that would've long since been hurled at an athlete?

Here's the real kicker in all this: we're excusing Nelson's hypocrisy. He is suing Dallas owner Mark Cuban for not honoring his contract with the Mavericks. Now he's threatening to not live up to his. We should be having a field day with that kind of material.

We would if he were an athlete. We've already laid down the law that the time for contract negotiations is when you don't have one in play. Not one year into a three-year deal. Not while you've got the franchise vulnerable and helpless. Not while there's a chance to win.

If it's OK for Nelson to disregard his signed contract, then ditto for the next NFL player who holds out because he's underpaid, or the next player who pops up with an injury that can only be cured by a raise.

Hey, Monta, how does winter in Maui sound? Maybe Nellie will let you crash at his place -- for the right price, of course.

Contact Marcus Thompson II at mthompson2@cctimes.com.