Chapter 2 The Next Day's Headlines

The next day's sports media headlines were dominated by Tang Tian's words.

Tang Tian's position in the league was now the same as that of Jordan, Kobe, and James in their prime.

But Tang Tian was the first person in history to publicly diss the league and the president like this!

However, on social media, most fans chose to stand with Tang Tian.

There was no smoke without fire. In the years since Xiao Hua took office, fans had been annoyed by the refereeing issues.

Many fans were on the verge of giving up on watching the NBA.

Now that Tang Tian had stood up, they naturally supported him strongly.

Moreover, with his current status in the league, only Tang Tian and James could say such things.

James was a businessman who wouldn't offend the league, making Tang Tian the only possible choice.

"Bang!"

Xiao Hua slammed his fist on the table, his chest heaving violently.

This Tang Tian was too much!

Really too much!

And he never imagined that Tang Tian would dare to say such a thing in front of the media. It was like slapping him directly in the face!

Tang Tian was just a player in the league!

What were players? Players were just tools and commodities for them, the capitalists!

If this tool didn't work, they could just replace it!

He never expected that Tang Tian, this tool, would rebel one day!

He was the president of the league!

Although he wasn't the owner, he could decide the future direction of the league. His voice in the league was unmatched, and all the owners had to watch his face.

But now, Tang Tian dared!

If he hadn't negotiated the new advertising contract a few years ago, how could these people have gotten so much money this summer?

If he hadn't tried his best to improve the viewing experience, how could the league have its current ratings?

If it weren't for him, would the league playoffs have such a high level of attention every year?

Ingrates!

Complete and utter ingrates!

No, he had to respond, and he had to suspend Tang Tian. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone think he was easy to bully!

Three days later, Xiao Hua, Tatum, and representatives of other teams in the league held an emergency meeting at the headquarters.

"We cannot tolerate this kind of public questioning of the league. It is a challenge to the authority of the league, no matter who he is."

Xiao Hua was full of anger as soon as he opened his mouth.

Although a night had passed, he didn't have much interest in women and had nowhere to vent his anger, so it hadn't dissipated yet.

"But he's Tang Tian."

Mark Cuban was a workaholic. He attended the league's monthly meetings, and this time was no exception.

His words almost made Xiao Hua vomit blood.

However, representatives from other teams nodded one after another, especially Nas, the vice president of the Pelicans, who was smiling slightly and almost nodding like crazy.

That's right, he was Tang Tian, the most popular player in the league, Nike's top star.

Oh, after winning the Olympic gold medal, he should be the number one basketball player in the world now.

Other people really couldn't challenge the league's authority. Whoever challenged it would be kicked out, but Tang Tian couldn't!

You want to kick Tang Tian out while he's at the peak of his career? That's suicide. The league's ratings and revenue would plummet.

We're all businessmen. Although you're the president, you're just an employee. We can't kick Tang Tian out for you!

Xiao Hua looked at everyone at the table and realized that no one was on his side. He was so angry that he almost had internal bleeding.

He had realized the attitudes of the teams. Although he had anger in his heart, he still suppressed it forcefully.

"We are the management of the league, and we must protect the interests of the league. We must at least suspend him for this kind of behavior."

Xiao Hua's words attracted the attention of the representatives of the teams.

Compared with his previous words, Xiao Hua's tone had softened a lot, which gave them some ideas.

After all, Tang Tian's actions were indeed excessive.

If there was any opinion on this kind of thing, the Pelicans representative could just bring it up at the meeting.

Speaking out in front of the media like that was a bit of a violation of the rules.

"How many games are you planning to suspend him for?"

It was Cuban again. Although he had always been Tang Tian's opponent, he still respected and liked Tang Tian very much.

"One season."

Xiao Hua said.

If he didn't play for a season, no matter who he was, his popularity would be cut in half. And during this time, he could use resources to promote a new number one player in the league.

The NBA was a commercial league. Like creating stars, there were suitable rules, and superstars could be created.

"No!"

"Impossible."

"Isn't that the same as kicking him out? That's not appropriate."

"I refuse."

……

However, as soon as Xiao Hua finished speaking, almost everyone objected.

Are you kidding? Suspending Tang Tian for a season? Not to mention whether the Pelicans would agree, the other teams wouldn't agree either!

Without Tang Tian, how much less attention would there be? Now, the ticket sales for games with Tang Tian were completely different from those without him.

"Half a season."

Xiao Hua took a step back.

"No, that's still too long."

"That's right, why don't you try suspending LeBron for a month?"

"If we suspend him for something like this, the league will lose tens of millions every day."

……

The representatives of the other teams still all objected.

"Twenty games."

Xiao Hua said through gritted teeth.

He was now like an old woman selling vegetables, haggling with a group of customers.

And he had already reached his expected bottom line.

If the number of games was less than this, then the suspension would lose its meaning. At most, it would just make Tang Tian earn less money and disgust him a little.

"Too many."

"The problem he raised is actually a problem."

"I think the league suspending him at this time feels a bit like a guilty conscience."

"I think we should indeed consider the issue of referees."

……

Still no one agreed, and even the direction began to change a bit. These representatives were still echoing Tang Tian's words.

Xiao Hua's face turned liver-colored at this time, indescribably ugly.

If this topic continued to be discussed, it would probably not be a question of whether or not to suspend Tang Tian, but would turn to the referees.

"So you think any punishment is unreasonable? The authority of the league can be trampled on by players at will? If one person does that, who can guarantee that there won't be a second or third person who does that?"

Xiao Hua said, suppressing his anger.

This time, many people nodded one after another.

What Xiao Hua said was indeed a problem.

"I don't think there will be a second or third person. You need strength to say those words."

It was Cuban again, and he blocked Xiao Hua's words again as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Then what do you say we should do?"

Xiao Hua looked straight at him.

"I think a fine of twenty-five thousand is about right, and by the way, let the Pelicans representative pass on a message and tell him not to say these things in public again in the future."

Cuban thought for a while and said.

"Agree."

"This approach is very reasonable."

"Let's do it this way."

……

As soon as Cuban finished speaking, it drew a chorus of agreement from the others.

ps: I just noticed that there's an extra Supreme Card or something for rewards, with a lot of benefits. If you need it, you can check it out in the rewards section.