A Lesson in Sports Ethics--Collusion

Amare Stoudemire is set to join the list of NBA free agents that will discuss their future plans with one another. This club includes Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and of course, LeBron James. Now let's not kid ourselves. Did we actually think these superstars would not send out feelers to determine what each one was going to do? These guys are all going to get their money, but the exception of Wade, none of them has been able to win a title. So of course they are going to try and engineer a way to the Larry O'Brien trophy. However, when Wade explain that these men would be meeting to discuss their plans with one another, he essentially started a discussion of collusion.

Collusion is essentially defined as working together to own the market of a given good or service. So this question has to be posed. If all these free agents are working together to play on teams together for the purpose of winning championships, it may ruin the parody of the league. But, it is not collusion. These players have every right to play for whatever team they want. They have every right to play with any player they wish to have on the court. As a result, if they added a 6th person to this list and the players paired off to play for the Bulls, Nets, and Clippers for example, Chicago, New Jersey and L.A. have become potential championship contenders. But as much griping as there may be, these players are not stopping any other team from bidding on them or from earning a championship.

Take the Lakers. Of course they would love to add James or Wade. Having a real big man who bangs around the rim like Bosh or Stoudemire would make them clear favorites in the Western Conference. But it is extremely likely none of these players will be in a Lakers uniform next season, yet the Lakers will still have a legitimate shot at the NBA championship.

It's going to hurt teams like Milwaukee. The Bucks are not in a major market. People don't seem to have the urge to play in Wisconsin. As a result, adding major talent to teams like Chicago and New Jersey will strength the Eastern Conference, diminishing the parody. Yet, Milwaukee still is in an open competition for these free agents, and they still have the ability to compete against these loaded teams for the NBA Championship. While it is likely they would be several games behind the teams they finished ahead of this year, they have not been denied the opportunity of the open market.

What it comes down to is this. It is ethical for these players to talk with one another and try to play together to win championships. Just because it is ethical does not mean we have to like it. These players may win their championships, but part of what makes us continually watch sports is the parody and the underdog. If the NBA becomes a league of four or five super teams, the product may struggle. Sure, ratings will be through the roof if a Bulls team with Lebron James and Amare Stoudemire is facing a Heat team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but when Andrew Bogut leads Milwaukee against Danny Granger's Indiana Pacers for a regular season battle, people are going to tune out. While the best thing for NBA is having its stars spread out to induce parody, the NBA may be headed for a few years of only a few contenders. And because it is technically not a result of collusion, there is nothing we can do about it but hope these stars decide to make our squads one of the "Chosen Teams."