Bruce called an emergency meeting of the Sports Desk today after learning that another professional athlete was considering leaving the team whose management had spent most of the summer quietly determining his trade value.
“This is about loyalty,” Bruce said, pounding the table. “You cannot just abandon a franchise because another employer offers you a better situation.”
Frankie nodded solemnly while refreshing the trade machine.
The issue has become particularly sensitive after a summer in which NBA teams moved stars around the country like patio furniture. Milwaukee traded Giannis Antetokounmpo after fourteen seasons, a championship, two MVP awards, and enough local devotion to qualify him for municipal infrastructure.
Fancy Pants asked whether teams were also expected to demonstrate loyalty.
Bruce appeared confused.
“That is completely different,” he said. “Teams have salary-cap considerations.”
Janet reviewed the unwritten rules. A player requesting a trade is selfish. A general manager trading the player is building for the future. A player leaving in free agency abandoned the city. A team declining to re-sign him made a difficult business decision.
Marvin described the arrangement as “corporate feudalism with jerseys.”
Bruce rejected that characterization while ordering a $140 replica jersey bearing the name of a player currently mentioned in trade rumors.
Simone suggested athletes should simply behave like management and describe every personal decision as “roster flexibility.”
The room went quiet.
By afternoon, Bruce received an alert that his favorite player had been traded.
He stared at the phone.
“Unbelievable,” he whispered. “After everything I gave him.”
Frankie reminded him that he had once booed the player for missing two free throws.
“That was accountability,” Bruce said.
The team store immediately emailed him a 20 percent discount on the new guy.
So timely, as we see this administration's non-existent value of loyalty exhibited daily, and most explicitly and profoundly sadly with our neighbors to the north. Apparently, there is loyalty only to itself and its so-called family.