David Stern, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, has good reasons not to be pleased with New Orleans. He wasn’t happy when the Hornets moved here from Charlotte, N.C., and he once, justifiably, blocked a movement by a rogue faction to move the Minnesota Timberwolves to this town. When big league sports commissioners look at the charts of ideal cities in which to locate a franchise, New Orleans, despite its charms, seldom makes sense.
Yet, to his credit, Mr. Stern has been supportive of New Orleans during its post-Katrina crisis. True, the franchise was bound by a lease to return to New Orleans, but there was nothing in the lease that said that the league had to pour money to support various recovery efforts in the city, nor did the lease require that this year’s NBA All-Star game be awarded to the city that is the junior member of the league.
New Orleans was blessed that during its worst days the heads of two high profile sports leagues; Stern and Paul Tagliabue of the NFL, were heroic in their responses. Tagliabue assured us that the Saints franchise would return to the city at a time when that wasn’t certain. The NFL also contributed mightily to the Superdome’s restoration.
Stern’s decision to stage the All-Star game here was a gracious extra touch.
We trust Hornets’ owner George Shinn’s sincerity when he says he wants his team to stay here. We also know that the city still has to prove itself for that to happen. We appreciate the NBA at least giving the city a chance.
When the Hornets opened the current season on Halloween night Stern was in the arena to welcome the franchise’s return. We hope that one day he can look back at his New Orleans experience and remember it, not as a source of displeasure, but as one of his proudest moments.
