|
Brian Butch's Bio: Nicknamed "Polar Bear" Wisconsin's Brian Butch plans to play professional basketball for as long as he possibly can. Since graduating from Wisconsin in 2008 the 7-foot center has played overseas in China, Germany, Greece as well as back home in the NBA summer league. He chronicles his adventures for us below. |
It's done
| Today, 12:43 PM | Topic: European basketball |
| I finally signed the settlement agreement. It's not what I wanted but we were able to get some money up front and then have the team wire me the other amount on specific dates. So, we will see if I get that money or not. I feel like we were able to get the most that we could. The owner was not going to budge. The financial situation of the team played a role in the agreement. I know that a lot of the Greek players have not been paid and those that were didn't get paid on time. It really was a standoff between the two sides. It took almost a week to get to this settlement done. The main thing is I wanted my rights released so that I can play basketball. It's weird when this game becomes a profession. It becomes like a job and it's about the money and you forget about the love of the game. That's what frustrates me the most about professional basketball. I told my agent I just want to play basketball, the game I love. And I don't want to wait and see opportunities fly by me. We reached a settlement on Tuesday and the team arranged for me to leave Sunday. Part of the deal says they have to fly me home the day after the settlement. How does that make any sense? I I looked into seeing if I could change my flight but it was going to cost another $1,000. So I'm stuck in Greece until at least Sunday. Now there's one good thing about that: my agent has time to look for other job opportunities throughout Europe. I've already had to pass on a possible job in Israel because my rights were not released yet. It's a tough feeling sitting around for no reason in a foreign country after you've been released. You feel a little ... helpless. This is when I remind myself, "You just have to roll with the punches." So I do. Or try to. Now I'll stay ready because you never know when something good well happen. |
|
| Permalink | Submit a comment | |
What's next?
| Nov 17 2009, 1:09 PM | Topic: European basketball |
| When you get released from a team you would think that it would be simple you get the money that you are owed and you get on a plane and head back home. That's the first thing that I wanted to happen. I can only wish it was that easy. It's not easy being released. You have to stay in shape and stay ready for the next opportunity but you can't do anything with the team that just released you. What I have been doing is going to the gym, lifting and running on the treadmill. Here's why I have to stay here: The team broke the contract so now my agent and the team owner have to try to figure out some sort of settlement. Why a settlement? First, the team still has my rights so before I can go play for another team I have to have my rights released. If we did not reach a settlement and I decided to take them to court, the team most likely would hold my rights and my basketball season would be over with for this year. The court that I would take this to would be the FIBA arbitration tribunal, which looks over all European basketball to make sure that the player's rights are honored. It could take months or even years for my case to be heard. Next option: Reach a settlement. It's our best option and involves negotiating. That involves a waiting game. And that's why I'm still here. It's up to my agent to go and try to make this settlement worth my while. So hopefully this procedure will go smoothly and not drag out. Meanwhile, I'll head back to the treadmill ... |
|
| Permalink | Submit a comment | |
So here's a little news...
| Nov 16 2009, 9:24 AM | Topic: European basketball |
| I've been released. The team in Greece has decided to release me and the news really took me by surprise. I met with the owner and he gave me the bad news. This is all part of the business and it's not the first time that I have been released. But still ... Here's where I get confused: I've done nothing but perform and I've acted professionally. Those are the two things you need to do in this profession - or so I thought. I was leading the team in rebounding and scoring. I was averaging 14 points and 5.3 rebounds in only 16.3 minutes per game. I was shooting 71.4 percent from the field and from the 3-point line, too. I'll let the numbers speak for themselves but I feel like I did everything I could do to help this team win. I knew something fishy was going on when the coach and management seemed to be on different pages. I knew things were getting worse when they brought in another player, but still I knew how I was performing and thought there was no way they would make a change. I was wrong. That's been a common theme in Greece. Hopefully the next stop I will be less wrong and more right. It's a tough thing to go through, but what makes me feel a little bit better is that the fans and people around Greece are just as confused as I am. I even spoke with opposing coach and he thought the move was made for some other reason than basketball. Another problem: You can only sign with one Greek team per year. So instead of going across Athens and playing for another team I have to find another team in a different country, or come back to America and wait. Stay tuned. I will keep you posted. |
|
| Permalink | Comments: 2 | Submit a comment | |
Work-related news
| Nov 16 2009, 9:21 AM | Topic: European basketball |
| In professional sports most leagues have player associations. Maybe you recall the NBA had a lockout in the 1998-1999 season because the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association did not agree on a collective bargaining agreement. The Greek league is no different except for the way that the players decide to handle it. The Greek players are not happy with some of the things that professional basketball players receive in Greece such as types of insurance and rules that they have to follow. So instead of playing our game on Saturday against Aris there will be no game. This is where I was confused and it's just another example of a difference in cultures. When I heard "strike" I thought that we were out of jobs (just like the NBA players in 1999). But this strike I guess is just to raise awareness. When the lockout happened in 1999 there was no practice or anything. Here in Greece not much has changed. We still have practice, and instead of a real game on Saturday we just play another "friendly." I do know that in Greece when other professions have a strike they do not work. But I guess the Greek players' central organization has decided that the best way to move on is to strike for one game and hopefully that will create enough awareness so the problems get resolved. So overall this strike is a one-game strike that will hopefully create tons of awareness for the players wants, and the game will be played next week instead of this week. Here's a link explaining what exactly is going on. |
|
| Permalink | Submit a comment | |
My car got towed
| Nov 12 2009, 12:32 PM | Topic: Life in Greece |
| OK, I know most of you saw some of my pictures showing how people park their cars in Athens. They're all over the place Logical question: How can somebody actually get their car towed? Yeah, I thought the same thing. That was until Monday afternoon when I walked out to get my car and there was no car. The first thing I did was call our team president and we tried to figure out what could have happened. Of course, there were really only two possibilities: My car got stolen or it got towed. It got towed. And I knew it was going to be an adventure to get my car back. I mean, where do you even start? I knew I was going to have a long day ahead of me. Getting your car back in the U.S. can take a long time. I figured that it was going to take a long time to get the car in a foreign country. Since I didn't have the car I needed, the team's vice president came with his moped. It's funny just seeing me on a moped but to see me on the back of a moped had to be hilarious. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. It was a tight fit and if felt a little weird. The first thing we had to do was try to find out where my car was. The police officer went into a big book and found it. A big book? I thought it was a little weird that it was not listed electronically but I guess the old way still works. Then we were supposed to talk to the police chief to see if we could get the licenses plates back sooner than the 21 days it's supposed to take when a car is towed. But the police chief was gone on an emergency call. I knew needed to get my car out of storage. Just like in the U.S. the longer you let a car sit in private storage the more you get charged. I found out it is common to get your car towed in Athens since the storage company had a separate office right next to the police station for people to pay their fines. When it was all said and done I had to pay 120 Euros to get my car back. I'm just glad that I have it back. No licenses plates yet but hopefully I will get them back soon. My Greek word of the day: "Police station." It's "atynomiko tmima." |
|
| Permalink | Submit a comment | |
| Brian Butch's blog |
|
Filter By Blogger:
Filter By Topic: Filter By Month: |
|
|
