Bishop of the Devil

The urban area of ​​West Lafayette has a total population of 30,000.

I'm afraid this is a bit unbelievable from a domestic perspective. Can a population of 30,000 be called a city? ! The population of some large villages in the country has this number...

But this is the fact. The population of West Lafayette's urban area is so pitifully small.

But even with a small population, on the first day of the training camp, because it was a weekend, the arena that could accommodate more than 10,000 people was packed with seats.

The key to an NBA-level game is that it’s free and requires no tickets. It’s also a good idea to bring your family to see the excitement.

There are three games every day, one in the morning and two in the afternoon...

When the news of the match was published in the newspapers, it directly attracted many residents from surrounding cities, and the entire arena was always packed.

It lasted for a whole week, and almost all the fans in Indiana drove to West Lafayette to watch the free games. They could watch three games in one key day, which was not too exciting...

And according to newspaper reports, this grand event will last for several months. At least before the start of the semester at Purdue University, there are no tickets for these training games. After the start of the semester, Purdue University may charge five to ten dollars. Ticket money...

Indiana has always been the state with the best basketball atmosphere in the United States, and now that such a grand event has happened, the fans are so happy!

Not all fans have the opportunity to attend NBA games in person. The main reason is that the price is too high. Even the cheapest tickets cost dozens or hundreds of dollars.

It may not sound like much, but there are countless poor people in the United States who cannot afford these hundreds of dollars.

In other words, after taking it out, they may be hungry for a week...

Now there are free football games to watch in West Lafayette. They drive in small groups in broken-down cars with leaks everywhere, and rush to West Lafayette from all over Indiana.

The fans' fanaticism is quite easy to understand. It's like the same thing happened in China in later generations. Thirty NBA players have to play training games in a gym in a fourth-tier small city for several months. No ticket fee is charged, and anyone can do it. Go and see...

It is foreseeable that the fans who go to watch the game may overcrowd the stadium.

…

The fans are naturally very grateful to Richard. If it weren't for Richard, it might be difficult for them to witness NBA stars competing on the court.

…

But the following official press conference of the league made these fans lose their minds with anger!

The NBA Management Committee, which was normally negotiating with the arena union, suddenly held an official press conference...

Fans and media reporters thought that the negotiations between the two parties had made progress, and now a press conference was held to explain the situation.

But this press conference did not mention the labor negotiation at all, and only said one thing...

After research, the Alliance Management Committee decided to fine Richard $150,000!

When Xiao Hua said this at the press conference, reporters thought he was joking.

It's fine. You and the players union are negotiating. Why are you thinking of punishing Richard? And one penalty is a fine of up to 150,000 US dollars. Isn't this a joke...

Seeing the reporters confused, Xiao Hua told the reason for punishing Richard.

Richard made unauthorized contact with NCAA players who had not signed up for the draft.

As soon as this reason was revealed, the reporters were not suddenly enlightened, but instead became more confused...

They can understand the reason Xiao Hua gave, because the NBA has regulations that the head coaches or executives of each team are not allowed to contact NCAA players before they sign up for the draft, or before they are eligible for the draft. Otherwise, the league will impose fines.

This is a rule that has been introduced a long time ago, but basically no one cares about it. There have been coaches who were fined before, but they were only fined several thousand dollars, given a warning, and even had some public contact. The league He turned a blind eye and didn't pursue the matter at all.

But now Richard is being held accountable, and the fine is as high as 150,000 US dollars!

The league has regulations for technical fouls and flagrant fouls on the field. The current maximum limit is US$20,000, but Richard's fine obviously does not meet the upper limit of US$20,000.

Reporters are well aware of these things, but what they really wonder about is...

Why would the NBA jump out to punish Richard at this time? ! Shouldn't they be fully engaged in negotiations with the players union? !

Moreover, Richard's unauthorized contact with NCAA players who are not eligible for the draft is not a matter of one or two days.

Didn't Richard take the Blazers players to Purdue University for training last season? Why didn't the league impose penalties at that time? !

Moreover, now Richard actually has the title of honorary head coach of the Boilermakers. In theory, those Boilermakers players are actually Richard's disciples...

Is he in contact with his players? Can this find fault? Is this also going to be punished? !

It doesn't seem to make sense at all...

Reporters pointed out to Xiao Hua the issue of Richard being the honorary head coach of the Boilermakers, but Xiao Hua avoided the important and chose the easy. He did not explain the issue at all and only said that things should be done in accordance with the rules.

…

When this news hit the newspapers, the originally quiet offseason suddenly became turbulent.

Fans in several states don’t particularly like Richard. To be precise, they dislike Richard very much because Richard always bullies their home team...

So they were so happy that Richard was severely punished that they rushed to tell each other.

Fans in some states are Richard's die-hard fans, especially the state of Indiana where Richard is currently located. Stern was almost scolded as a pig head because of this matter.

Indiana can be said to be Richard's home base. There are countless die-hard fans here. This is also the reason why Larry Bird simply stood by Richard's side.

After all, the Pacers want to make money from Indiana fans’ tickets…

The media in Indiana did not take the matter seriously and hyped up various conspiracy theories.

For example, the free-ticket training game held by Richard made Stern anxious. Stern felt that Richard's actions had shaken the foundation of the NBA...

For example, some tabloids reported that Richard was preparing to start a new league and lead these players to form a new league...

There were also some small newspapers who learned about Richard's billionaire net worth from unknown sources, which even spread the news about starting a new business.

The fans were naturally angry. They were so angry that they couldn't watch a free game like this!