Dear David Stern,

(photo by Jim O’Connor/US Presswire)

Well its basketball season so it’s fitting that I have to write another open letter to David Stern, last year it was due to his denial of the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers. This time it has nothing to do with the Lakers, but has everything to do with Stern trying to flex his muscles before he exits stage left.

Mr. Stern,

You have decided to fine the San Antonio Spurs organization $250,000 for resting players, you have decided that the fans in Miami deserve to see the star players play and you have decided this all in the past 24 hours.  So what message are you sending the organizations? Well, you are telling them that they have no control over their roster and if the “Stars” don’t play the team can, and will be fined.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli sat out the game to rest and the Spurs almost beat the Heat, it was an exciting game and came down to the last few minutes, if I were a Heat fan (which I would never stoop so low to be) I would be more upset over the fact my team nearly lost to a handful of bench players and not that a 152 year old power forward, a Frenchman and balding sharp shooter from the OPPOSING team didn’t play.

You impose a fine of $250,000 on a team because they want to rest their aging stars so they are healthy and ready to play deep into the playoffs, what are the coaches needed for? You are making their roster moves now? You have shown that you are truly not a fan of basketball by doing this, you have shown that you want to be the supreme leader and all must bow to you, and when a team does what’s best for them and not what is best for your marketing ideas they will be punished.

I’ve been forced to watch the Heat play in the past and their fans are fair weathered fans at best, most show up late, return from half time late and leave early. But dammit the opposing teams will be forced to play their “Stars” because the fans deserve it. Come on, really? The fans deserve a game that is entertaining, yes it’s nice to see the top tier players but it’s not what it’s all about.

Baseball players rest tons of games, hell, even NBA players are rested before the playoffs start, why is this any different now? What justification have you given other than the fan deserved better? True fans understand players need to rest, true fans understand the season is long and some guys are older and need that rest, real fans didn’t bitch about this, so why the fine Mr. Stern?

You are leaving soon, and not soon enough, your geeky goon will be taking over and truthfully I doubt anybody can do worse than you, so I am looking forward to your departure, you have done some good, but mostly you have acted like a power hungry prick with a little man complex. You have shown over and over that you will look out for those close to you and damn those against you, you’ve never been a Popovich fan and this is your way of sticking it to him one more time before you leave. 

No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you wish and pray and dream, you will never be a great Commissioner. Keep dreaming, you have a better chance of dunking a basketball over Dwight Howard than you do of being known as great leader. Great Leaders do what’s right and just and this act of wrong and unjust, so please carry on, carry on all the way out the door and into retirement.

Leave now,

Ott