Can "experts" not belittle a man when they don't know the whole story?

[Cheesebeef]

Yes, of course. The money comes from advertisers through the Suns as an intermediary. O'Neal is an employee of the NBA, not of the Phoenix Suns.



My job requires me to meet with certain people at certain pre-arranged times. My salary presumes that I will honor my obligations to my employer. Part of my job is to be available when I have agreed to be available.

Obviously I could make an exception for something truly critical. I would not consider the funeral of someone three generations removed from me to be truly critical, especially when, with a bit of communication, I could easily have asked for the funeral to be scheduled at a more convenient time.

criticizing Shaq for missing time due to a funeral and implying that the rest of his family should completely re-arrange their schedules to fit his is well, I don't know what that is.

this just seems like a really, really silly to criticize someone about. you have no idea how close Shaq was with this woman. you have no idea how this funeral effects other people in the family's work schedule's. good grief man.

 

[Cheesewater]

criticizing Shaq for missing time due to a funeral and implying that the rest of his family should completely re-arrange their schedules to fit his is well, I don't know what that is.

this just seems like a really, really silly to criticize someone about. you have no idea how close Shaq was with this woman. you have no idea how this funeral effects other people in the family's work schedule's. good grief man.

I agree with this. In fact, this brings up a good point: Shaq can afford to miss work for the funeral. Maybe all of the other attendees cannot.

 

[msdundee]

Its standard practice that personal time off is granted for family deaths, been that way for 20 years. If your job doesnt permit that, they are below the curve of employers of professionals in this society. At the last 5 jobs I've worked, paid time was/is granted and it doesnt come out of vacation time.

Paid bereavement time for death of an immediate family member is quite common in most major corporations, with the amount of time varying. However, "immediate family" is usually clearly defined, and typically considered to be spouse/children/parents/siblings.

Not a big deal anyway--Shaq probably would have sat out tonight and pulled his paycheck either way. Missing two games, which they say is a possibility, might be arguable.

 

[Covert Rain]

criticizing Shaq for missing time due to a funeral and implying that the rest of his family should completely re-arrange their schedules to fit his is well, I don't know what that is.

this just seems like a really, really silly to criticize someone about. you have no idea how close Shaq was with this woman. you have no idea how this funeral effects other people in the family's work schedule's. good grief man.

I agree with this. In fact, this brings up a good point: Shaq can afford to miss work for the funeral. Maybe all of the other attendees cannot.

Good point. Not to mention that depending on the rest of the family, their employers may have dictated when they could get time off versus Shaq where he has the opportunity to be more flexible.

Paid bereavement time for death of an immediate family member is quite common in most major corporations, with the amount of time varying. However, "immediate family" is usually clearly defined, and typically considered to be spouse/children/parents/siblings.

Ours is similar but also includes "Guardian" or "relative" that raised you.

 

[elindholm]

Not to mention that depending on the rest of the family, their employers may have dictated when they could get time off versus Shaq where he has the opportunity to be more flexible.

That's where we disagree. He gets paid more than $200,000 per game. Those times should be given top priority. I mean, think about that number for a moment. With that figure, he could probably cover a month's salary for all of the other family members attending.

Entertainers command such high salaries because there is a huge amount of money that flows around each of their performances. If you are an entertainer who does not perform, you aren't doing your job, and you aren't earning your salary. This isn't like working in an office where you can make up for it with a few extra weekend hours and accomplish the same work. O'Neal is supposed to honor 82 three-hour blocks per year. That's really not a lot to ask.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

That's where we disagree. He gets paid more than $200,000 per game. Those times should be given top priority. I mean, think about that number for a moment. With that figure, he could probably cover a month's salary for all of the other family members attending.

Entertainers command such high salaries because there is a huge amount of money that flows around each of their performances. If you are an entertainer who does not perform, you aren't doing your job, and you aren't earning your salary. This isn't like working in an office where you can make up for it with a few extra weekend hours and accomplish the same work. O'Neal is supposed to honor 82 three-hour blocks per year. That's really not a lot to ask.

Soo... I'd tell you that you should write the Suns office about this, but Shaq doesn't work for the Suns. So you should write to David Stern? What about Hunter the NBAPA director?

 

[elindholm]

Soo... I'd tell you that you should write the Suns office about this, but Shaq doesn't work for the Suns. So you should write to David Stern? What about Hunter the NBAPA director?

I already said I don't care whether O'Neal plays. My only point is that the commentators' criticism is not completely out of bounds. That's all. It can be argued either way. I'm sure we would agree that the NBA isn't exactly smart about how it ensures the integrity of its entertainment product.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I already said I don't care whether O'Neal plays. My only point is that the commentators' criticism is not completely out of bounds. That's all. It can be argued either way.

I see. It appears that you were taking this more seriously than I thought.........

 

[D-Dogg]

This thread is ridiculous. Andrew is right in the first place.

Second, planning a funeral around a freaking basketball game?

Not expecting employers to give you time off? When my dad died, I not only got the time off, but my CEO, who was unable to make it, had our CFO DRIVE down 3 1/2 hours to the funeral to be there with me. That's well above the line, but not giving time off is waaaaaay below standard decency and I frankly couldn't work for a place that thought of their employees that way.

criticizing Shaq for missing time due to a funeral and implying that the rest of his family should completely re-arrange their schedules to fit his is well, I don't know what that is.

this just seems like a really, really silly to criticize someone about. you have no idea how close Shaq was with this woman. you have no idea how this funeral effects other people in the family's work schedule's. good grief man.

Nailed it.

 

[abomb]

Not expecting employers to give you time off? When my dad died, I not only got the time off, but my CEO, who was unable to make it, had our CFO DRIVE down 3 1/2 hours to the funeral to be there with me. That's well above the line, but not giving time off is waaaaaay below standard decency and I frankly couldn't work for a place that thought of their employees that way.

That is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. He had to be there for 1/3 of the time it took him to drive roundtrip. :notworthy

 

[D-Dogg]

That is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. He had to be there for 1/3 of the time it took him to drive roundtrip. :notworthy

It's one of many reasons why that CEO is pretty much who I aspire to be.

 

[msdundee]

Although it wasn't mentioned anywhere before, it is kind of interesting that according to Kerr, the funeral is actually not until Friday: http://www.nba.com/suns/news/newsroom_notes_081209.html

 

[Cheesebeef]

Although it wasn't mentioned anywhere before, it is kind of interesting that according to Kerr, the funeral is actually not until Friday: http://www.nba.com/suns/news/newsroom_notes_081209.html

I saw that - it confirms my initial suspicions that we were just forfeiting tonight's game and letting Shaq go early as part of the b2b paln IMO.

 

[msdundee]

I saw that - it confirms my initial suspicions that we were just forfeiting tonight's game and letting Shaq go early as part of the b2b paln IMO.

Yup, and although I did read somewhere else "he'd try to be back on Friday night," it's unlikely he'll have to go up against DH either, which could prove quite embarrassing. Sorry, I'm turning into a cynic.

 

[SirStefan32]

Man, his grandmother died. If he needs a week off, he needs a week off- end of discussion. What day funeral is on is irrelevant! How many games he'll miss is irrelevant!
We weren't having this discussion when Barbosa was in the same position and we wouldn't be having this discussion if it was ANYBODY other than Shaq.

 

[msdundee]

Man, his grandmother died. If he needs a week off, he needs a week off- end of discussion. What day funeral is on is irrelevant! How many games he'll miss is irrelevant!
We weren't having this discussion when Barbosa was in the same position and we wouldn't be having this discussion if it was ANYBODY other than Shaq.

They are hardly in the same position.
Barbosa lost his mother, someone he reportedly spoke to by phone at least twice a day. Shaq lost his great-grandmother. I doubt there are many of us who ever even met our great-grandmothers.

 

[elindholm]

They are hardly in the same position.
Barbosa lost his mother, someone he reportedly spoke to by phone at least twice a day. Shaq lost his great-grandmother. I doubt there are many of us who ever even met our great-grandmothers.

Also, as I already pointed out, Barbosa took time off to be with his mother in her final days, while she was still alive. I really think a lot of people on this board have never been involved in planning a funeral or memorial service. It is a sombre occasion, but also a very pragmatic one.

 

[Andrew]

I just lost my grandmother a few months back and I went back home before her funeral. I am sorry, but if you are harping on Shaq for not playing you are messed up in the head. Someone in his family died, THAT SHOULD AND ALWAYS WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BASKETBALL. Despite some of you saying "Oh it was only his great grandmother..." did you know she helped raise him?

Some of you people are sick. Let the man mourn. Certainly you would want to take off time from work if you lost someone in your family, just because he is Shaquille O'Neal, it doesn't make him different.

 

[D-Dogg]

Yep, Andrew is right.

 

[msdundee]

I just lost my grandmother a few months back and I went back home before her funeral. I am sorry, but if you are harping on Shaq for not playing you are messed up in the head. Someone in his family died, THAT SHOULD AND ALWAYS WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BASKETBALL. Despite some of you saying "Oh it was only his great grandmother..." did you know she helped raise him?

Some of you people are sick. Let the man mourn. Certainly you would want to take off time from work if you lost someone in your family, just because he is Shaquille O'Neal, it doesn't make him different.

One last post to clarifiy some of my comments and why I even woke up this thread, because as it turns out, the flying misquotes include both Shaq's and mine.

I didn't say it was "ONLY his great-grandmother". That would have been minimalizing what was probably a great relationship. I was responding to sirstefan's implication that losing your mother and losing your (great-)grandmother are equal in impact. Except in the most unusual cases, they are not.

And Shaq didn't say his great-grandmother "HELPED raise him." He said , "She raised me and made me who I am." According to his bio and his own previous stories, Shaq grew up a military brat. He, his brother and his two sisters spent their childhood being raised by his mother and stepfather--first in Jersey, a long stint in Germany, and then back to bases in the States. If his great-grandmother lived with the family, she was likely very close to Shaq and his siblings.

My comments just concerned the way the whole thing was repped, and who really cares? I have no problem with Shaq taking two games off, or two weeks off. In fact, I wouldn't be upset at all if he took two months off.

 

[schutd]

Getting paid $20 million per year is supposed to mean making some sacrifices in your personal life. Someday, Andrew, you will have a job, and it will cause you to miss things you want to attend. I've missed several important events of my daughter's childhood this year because of work responsibilities, and those are opportunities I can never get back. And I can guarantee you I don't make anywhere near $20 million per year, or even 1/100 that much.

I don't care whether O'Neal plays or not; it's a team policy decision. But the people who pay O'Neal's salary -- you know, the advertisers, or have you forgotten how the league's money machine works? -- have every right to complain about all the time he takes off from work.

I'm with you, Elind... Just since April (when I started this restaurant) Ive missed SO much of my little rugrats life. I see her minutes a day, not hours and get 1 day a week with her in total and on that day, IM generally completely exhausted.

But it is what it is. Just last week, I had to move her entire birthday party to the restaurant, because we got word a critic was coming in. It sucks but it is what it is.

Advertisers DO pay his salary ultimately, and they can make all the noise they want. I do however find it nice that his actual employer has the stones to tell them to go blow so shaq can go to his g-ma's funeral...

 

[Andrew]

I made this thread, so who in the hell made those tags?

 

[Brianellsworth]

I made this thread, so who in the hell made those tags?

Wasn't me....I was the one that asked you about it. I thought only the person who made the thread was able to put tags on it.....shows how little I know apparently.

 

[BC867]

So, is Shaq is to be commended for attending the funeral (honoring his Great Grandmother and his family) . . .

And that it ties in with the Suns plan to rest him periodically during the season, to have him ready for the playoffs (a concept the Suns have disregarded in recent years, despite their marketing phrase, "Eyes On The Prize")?

I think so.