So you know how NBA players are not currently insured due to the lockout? Well I wonder how a 
few NBA front offices are feeling about this tidbit about the new London Olympics basketball arena.
As a tune up for the Eurobasket 2011 tournament, London hosted a test event where a few teams who would be participating at Eurobasket played some games to test the facility. Teams such as France with San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker, and Portland Trail Blazers’ Nicolas Batum and Great Britain with Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng all participated at the test event and it was revealed that players were dodging puddles of water on their way to the court due to a leaky roof.
A spokeswoman for Olympics organisers Locog said: “The leak in the athletes’ corridor followed heavy rainfall over a short period of time.
“The leak lasted for approximately two hours whilst the rain fell. As soon as the rain stopped the seal where the leak occurred was repaired.”
But for any NBA front office people reading this, avert your eyes. The leak started before the five-day test event and though it was corrected, it seems the puddles were not mopped up before the games kicked off. Also, did those puddles really get overlooked for that long? You know a bucket and a “wet floor” sign could have worked as well for the players coming out onto the court.
Now granted, the French, British, and all other teams with NBA talent did supply insurance during the Olympic qualifiers but take this as a lesson NBA owners and players union. This is why you all need to end this CBA mess. Hammer out a deal, get the players insured so the next time it is reported an arena is falling apart, there is insurance coverage. So think about that New Jersey Nets ownership as Deron Williams is playing in a Turkish arena you have no supervision over.
And it’s a good thing the roof was repaired. Aside from the 2012 games, the stadium will also host the wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby during the Paralympic Games.
(photo: mirror.co.uk)
