Tigers, both the “Melbourne” and “Xinjiang Flying” species, have done an admirable job in recent times of showing us how not to treat your basketball players as employees.
One thing Australia has generally had going for it, as a place to play professional basketball amongst the global options, is the high standard of work conditions. Players usually can expect to get paid on time (Sydney Kings’ 2008 disaster not withstanding), enjoy an English-speaking environment, a stable national political culture and are treated professionally by club management. Generally.
Contrastingly, there are numerous work locations for professional players the world around, where the salary may be tantalisingly attractive, but the risks of mistreatment and unprofessionalism are high. Patty Mills experienced one such scenario, in his recent stint with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
Mills performed at a high level for the Chinese team, averaging 26.5ppg, 3.8apg. 3.8rpg and 2.3spg across 12 games. The team, which boasts former Phoenix Suns forward Gani Lawal and Chinese star Mengke Bateer, cut Mills unceremoniously via a scathing press release that claimed he was faking a well-documented and medically tested hamstring injury.
The thing was, few were surprised at the treatment afforded by the Chinese team, who also parted ways with NBA star Kenyon Martin and American coach Bob Donewald late last year. Mills was reportedly offered a contract worth between $1.0m and $1.5m, whilst Martin was on a $2.6m deal. This type of money is what attracts players, allowing them to overlook the conditions in which they play and the lower standard of competition.
On the other hand, Australia’s National Basketball League is viewed in a much higher regard and players ply their trade Downunder despite lower salaries, due to the positive factors mentioned above.
For that reason, the reported behaviour by Melbourne Tigers CEO and owner Seamus McPeake is simply “not cool”, to put it in the vernacular. Last night the Tigers’ season record fell to 9-9 after a 73-60 home loss to the talented, yet inconsistent Gold Coast Blaze.
McPeake, well-known for his hands-on approach to the club that he purchased in 2002, did not appreciate the loss and saw fit to sack star off-season signing Ayinde Ubaka as a result. Roy Ward of The Age describes what unfolded:
A source close to the team told The Age McPeake stormed into the Tigers’ locker-room and unleashed a tirade on the players before firing Ubaka on the spot.
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Ubaka confirmed the report last night via a text message but wouldn’t comment further until later today.
But he made it clear he was furious about his axing and the “unprofessional” manner in which it happened.
Ubaka’s sacking was believed to have happened without the knowledge of coach Trevor Gleeson and captain Tommy Greer who were facing a post game press conference.
Ubaka also confirmed his teammates and coaches knew nothing about the move until it had happened.
Ubaka’s sacking would contravene one of the key agreements of Gleeson’s agreement to join the club as he demanded final say on all player movements.
During Gleeson’s first press conference with the club both McPeake and Gleeson himself confirmed the coach had final say on his players.
Ubaka’s performance this season has been seen by many observers to be below his previous standards with the Cairns Taipans and Gold Coast Blaze. Undoubtedly, there is cause for concern with the Tigers placement on the ladder this season, given pre-season expectations and Ubaka could be seen as partially responsible for the situation. Regardless of this, a post-game, locker-room tirade and firing is not the way to deal with such a scenario.
A review with coaching staff and the player during the week, where cooler heads can prevail, obviously is the more professional approach in any working environment. However, if reports are to be believed, this is not the first such case of unprofessionalism where McPeake and the Tigers are concerned. As Ward points out:
McPeake was reported to have made a similar move last season where he was said to have threatened to not pay his players due to their poor performance.
McPeake has repeatedly denied those reports.
Former Tigers centre Luke Nevill told The Age last season to “ask Seamus” when Nevill was asked about if McPeake had stormed into the locker-room.
Nevill left the team to take an offer from a Russian club soon after the reported confrontation.
Many also saw the treatment of former Tigers stalwart Daryl Corletto, now flourishing in New Zealand with the Breakers, as lacking class. On more than one off-season occasion, the loyal Corletto was left waiting to be re-signed by the Tigers, with the most recent instance seeing him outsted from the active roster so that the team could accomodate Mills’ contract.
Are the Tigers an organisation that players will be rushing to play for? One would have to think that this type of alleged behaviour by their CEO and owner would place question marks in the minds of free agents who have more than one offer on the table.
As for where Ubaka lands next, it will be interesting to see whether he lands with a fourth NBL club.
