A Rose Garden usher speaks out about the NBA lockout and its financial effects as well as the gag order imposed upon him. -------------------------------- So here I sit ready to expose how this NBA lockout affects the John Everyman, not just the millionaire basketballers and the billionaire owners. While the owners refuse to open their books to show where these massive losses are coming from, I am more than ok with opening mine to show how trite their complaints seem. The rich arguing with the richer is a bad look, especially with so much business, so many people’s employment and the overall image of the sport at stake. Get ready to finally understand the untold story of the arena worker. ... As you can see from the table, I don’t make much money. But the majority of the money I do make is a direct result of working Blazer, er, NBA sanctioned games. 56.49% of all earnings for me last year were basketball related income, which speaks to how much I (along with my fellow co-workers) depend on the NBA to have games play as scheduled. The main reason I decided to apply at the Rose Garden was because of the chance to work Blazer games. By the end of my first half year working at the arena I was granted the opportunity to be a part of their "Familiar Face Program," which I was awarded the section I work at for all 41 regular season games. I am able to request that same position right after the NBA schedules are released in August, and the only way I am in jeopardy of losing that position (as well as losing the ability to be scheduled for all 41 regular season games) is if I miss more than 3 regular games. The NBA, in my eyes, is job security to those working at the Rose Garden. Without that guarantee of being able to work those game shifts, I would be (and currently am) at the mercy of being scheduled (in competition with a few hundred other ushers) for the leftover events. No NBA games equals an inconsistent amount of shifts, which leads to inconsistent pay, which leads to increased difficulty in making ends meet. -------------------------------- ed: edited description, bumped to front page