If fans of the 1950s and 1960s traveled to the future, I am afraid that I cannot believe that the NBA will become more than 30 billionaires and a bunch of millionaires, both during the game and offseason, like opera troupes, supporting a mature media industry, journalists and countless trainers.

Excessive player power, free agent signing like gods.

Big contracts, sneaker endorsements, commercial advertisements, whether they like it or not, the NBA at that time was becoming a real business legend.

So, what was the same alliance like in 1964 fifty years ago?

NBA players are no different from Coolie in this era. Due to their racial talent, the darkening of the league's skin is inevitable, so the players have become a discriminated noun. White players are despised by whites because they dance with a group of simple-minded and well-developed chimpanzees in order to stutter. Black players are discriminated against, and their skin is original sin.

In this era, a team only needs one senior manager and one coach to take care of everything, and then find twelve players to compete in the league.

The messy schedule, the journey arrangement without compassion, the training grounds and hotels that lack security, and the logistical support and medical teams that are completely unavailable. Some teams still have team doctors, and some teams are still low-level tragedies even if they have team doctors. In the long run, the tragedy of Maurice Stokes will only happen again and again.

No matter how many nonsensical methods the media in the future try to arouse people's passion that has nowhere to vent in peaceful times, they squeeze out "old enemies", "fighters", and "peak showdowns" and other middle-aged names such as "soldiers" and "peak showdowns" everywhere, and instigate everyone to choose one side to support and buy team connections, thus giving this sport more sportsmanship and heroic sentiment.

Almost no media will tell you that half a century ago, no one thought that "snatch the ball and hold it still" or "slowly walking through the half-time to hang the ball to the center with thick glasses" was a sport worthy of love.

For a long time, players' salaries have been fixed, and everyone has to find a second job to maintain their lives.

If players are injured on the court, the team will not bear their medical expenses. If they are as unlucky as Stokes, taking care of you is a favor, and not taking care of you is also a compliant one. After playing for ten years of professional games, they suffer from injuries but cannot get any retirement protection. How can those who devote their entire youth to professional basketball make a living?

Livelihood is one side, and off-site problems are the other side.

Boston fans enjoyed the glory brought by Russells, while sneaking into his bed and peeing at their doorstep. All kinds of surreal things are common. Robertson helped the high school team win the state championship, and the coach changed the championship parade to the slums because he believed that winning the championship by blacks would only embarrass the school. Even though Lotte Pai Baylor was in more beloved Los Angeles, more than half of the restaurants refused to serve him.

Did you see it? Even superstars are treated like this? What about the others?

Without idols, half of the people in the league will be contemptuous of fools with their own prejudice; the NBA looks more like a place to let the middle class who think is noble vent negative emotions? No one is willing to spend too much money for them.

Players have no pensions, no meal tickets, no advertising endorsements, and no medical insurance.

Only the retention clause that makes all players like private property? There is also the unspoken rule that each team is not allowed to exceed two blacks - until the Celtics break it.

There are many situations like the Celtics where Auerbach determines the fate of a team, causing players to concentrate on the training ground only an hour before the game? Because they may be absent due to various accidents.

In 1954, Bob Cousy formed a Players Guild? He won over other stars by writing letters - the conditions at that time were only allowed to write letters - so Cousy began to join forces with other players? This allowed the players to have an organization that could have an equal dialogue with the NBA league. From this perspective, Cousy was already an epoch-making figure.

The 1955 All-Star Game was of great significance in the history of NBA labor-management disputes and was also a major achievement achieved by the Players Union in labor-management disputes, because Cousey was directly negotiating with the then NBA League president Morris Podolov. They asked each team to settle the wages owed? Reduce unnecessary performance games to less than 20 games to buy players rest time. At the same time, players deserve to receive dividends for the exhibition games.

The dispute lasted for three years. When the league office wanted to fight a protracted battle, Cousy angrily led the players to the office building, and the matter was resolved. After that, Tom Heinthorne, the president of the second Players Guild, took office.

Cousy completed his historical mission? Now it's Heinthorne's turn.

On the evening of January 14, 1964, Boston, Massachusetts.

From 1946 to the present? The three biggest problems that bother players: too low pay and too much trip? Lack of pension plans. So far, it has not been solved.

Three hours before the game started? The East and West All-Stars gathered in the locker room? In addition to the players, there is also their supervisor, Larry Fleisher.

Fleischer has been giving advice on players' equal rights activities.

Today, he solemnly told the players: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"The league just signed a broadcast agreement with ABC, which is the first time in history, but they don't know whether the public will like the NBA and you. But this is not what you need to care about. You just need to know that what you want to fight for can only be tonight, and it must be tonight!"

Bosses want to make money, and TV broadcasting is a treasure that is about to be developed.

It was the first time in NBA history that it was broadcast. If it was screwed up, which TV station would give them a chance in the future?

This is the boss' opportunity and the player's opportunity.

"I think you all heard Mr. Fleischer's words!" The Players' Guild Chairman Tom Heinthorne stood up. He was in the middle, smoking cigarettes. Few people knew how much he had. But today, his position is above everyone. "Since the establishment of the league, countless players have sacrificed their lives and received a little meager salary and a completely unprotected second half of their lives. Because of the bosses' bad exploitation, we must receive a small amount of poor salary and waste precious rest time to play stupid exhibition games for them! Fortunately, with Kuz, he has won us the right we deserve!"

"Now, it's time for us to do something!"

Heinthorne's voice was rarely loud: "We need a better schedule, we want better transportation. We don't want to go to an airport every day and catch the train to arrive at the away game. We don't want to risk our lives and play hard but can't get a promise from the bosses. We have participated in the charity match of Maurice Stokes, but please ask yourself, do you hope that someone in the future will collect medical expenses and organize others to play for you every day? That's the responsibility of the boss, but they abandoned it!"

Heinthorne's words were mobilizing the players' emotions at an extremely fast speed, and everyone's anger became excited.

What he said is not the illusion of fake and empty, but something closely related to them, something they are experiencing.

"What are we playing hard for? Honor? Fucking honor, we just want to live well! If we play for ten years and our lives are not guaranteed after retirement, why did we choose this profession? We dedicated our youth to the league, but they refused to guarantee our old age. These fucking things must come to an end!" Heinthorne's tone and emotions were adjusted to the highest point at that moment, "I want to boycott the All-Star Game! Unless the league agrees to make changes, who are you willing to be with me?"

When his emotions reached that point, everyone shouted loudly and stood firmly beside Heinthorne.

In this way, 20 stars from the East and West all stars reached an agreement and unified the camp.

This is the first time since the founding of the NBA, the exploited players have collectively, organizedly and plannedly challenged the authority of capitalists and forced them to make compromises. If Bob Cusey founded the Players Guild in 1954 and forced the investors to bow their heads, then the story that happened in the locker room in Boston Garden on January 14 is a symbol of "the awakening of players' autonomy."

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Dr. J's dazzling contract endorsement, the Magician's 25-year, $25 million super contract that shocked the whole country, Michael Jordan's sky-high price of 30 million in one year and a pioneering one-year signing force the team to retain the championship lineup, and the Emperor's decision in the summer of 2010. Later, in order to escape from a small city, the players voluntarily applied to leave the team, designated their next home, recruiting superstars during the contract period and other operations and energy that seem to ruin people's views. The source of everything began in 1964.

The awakening of the players.

For the first time they will discover how huge their energy is.
Chapter completed!