老球员，新时代

Alex Kennedy　傅婧瑛

Last month，the National Basketball Retired Players Association-an organization that features over 900-plus players and 12 chapters across the United States-announced that Caron Butler would be joining its Board of Directors.The 38-year-old，who officially announced his retirement from the NBA in February of 2018，will serve a three-year term.

上個月，NBA退役球员工会——拥有超过900名球员，在全美拥有12个分部的机构——宣布卡隆·巴特勒加入其理事会。2018年2月宣布退役，现年38岁的巴特勒将开始为期三年的任期。

Recently，the NBRPA has been electing younger，newly-retired individuals like Butler，Jerome ‘Junkyard DogWilliams（45 years old）and Grant Hill（46 years old） to leadership positions.This is no coincidence.These players resonate with todays athletes and theyre instantly recognizable to even the youngest current NBA players.

不久前，NBA退役球员工会选出了像巴特勒，“垃圾狗”杰罗姆·威廉姆斯（45岁）和格兰特·希尔（46岁）这样更为年轻，新近退役的管理层。这并不是巧合。这些人可以和现役球员产生共鸣，即便是最年轻的现役球员也能立刻认出他们。

why does that make Butler and Hill valuable to the NBRPA？ Because many former greats feel that todays NBA players simply dont know much about the leagues history and，as a result，fail to acknowledge the needs of retired players.By putting younger retirees on the NBRPAs Board of Directors the hope is that they can strengthen their relationship with current players and get more done，which would ultimately benefit everyone（since，after all，every current player will someday retire）.

为什么这能让巴特勒和希尔成为NBA退役球员工会中极有价值的成员？因为很多曾经的巨星认为，如今的NBA球员不太了解联盟的历史，因此不认可退役球员的需求。而让更年轻的退役球员进入理事会，退役球员工会希望他们能够强化与现役球员的关系，完成更多工作，最终让所有人受益（毕竟，每一个现役球员最终都会退役）。

“For the most part，they arent aware of[how former players paved the way];they think its always been like this，”Kareem Abdul-Jabbar，the NBAs all-time leading scorer，said of todays players.“If they talked to Bill Russell，they would find out that when he first came into the league，therewas a quota for black players on a team-they couldnt have more than one or two back in the‘50s.They dont understand that when the NBA first started，it was segregated.It was like that for three years！They dont have any perspective;I think thats what [the problem]is.The NBA does a good job of trying to educate the young guys.The[rookie]orientation thing that they do，I think that helps.Some of the guys do get to the peint where they know and appreciate [former players].

“最主要的是，他们不知道（过去的球员如何开创道路），他们以为—直都是这样。”NBA历史得分王卡里姆·贾巴尔这样评价现在的球员，“如果和比尔·拉塞尔对话，他们会发现拉塞尔刚进联盟时，每支球队的黑人球员是有指标的，1950年代，—支球队不能拥有超过一两名黑人球员。他们不知道，NBA刚成立时实行种族隔离。这种情况持续了三年时间！他们完全没概念。我觉得这就是问题。NBA在教育年轻球员方面做得很好，比如新秀培训，我觉得这很有裨益，有些人因此开始了解并尊重前辈球员的努力。”

Some guys are aware;thats one reason why I love LeBron[James].Hes aware of what went down…But[many players]are usually surprised by it all.They just dont know.”

“有些人意识到了这就是我喜欢勒布朗（詹姆斯）的一个原因。他知道过去发生过什么……但（很多球员）会因为事实而吃惊，他们不了解过去的事。”

“I dont really thinkthey care[about the past]，”Hall of Famer Earl“The Pearl”Monroe added.“There are some guys who come out to our events and they understand.I remember when LeBron came out，he had a pretty good appreciation for the guys who played before him and the history of the game.Hes always been that way.But now，you have other guys who are 18 years old.19 years old or 20 years oldandthey havent really[learned the history].All they know is[whats taught to them]by their AAU coach.They dont know how the game used to be played.Theres no appreciation for the history of the game.”

“我不觉得他们关心（过去）。”名人堂球员，绰号“黑珍珠”的厄尔·门罗补充道，“有些参加我们活动的人对此深有体会。我记得勒布朗出来时，他很尊敬在他之前的球员和篮球的历史。他一直都是这样。但现在，其他18，19，20岁的人，他们不怎么了解历史。他们知道的，就是AAU教练教给他们的。他们不知道篮球过去是怎么打的，不懂得尊重历史。”

During All-Star Weekend，several retired players saidits not uncommon for a current NBA player to walk past-or even interactwith-alegend and have no idea whom they just encountered，thinking the former player is just a random fan.

全明星周末期间，几个退役球员表示，现役球员和传奇球员互动时，他们完全不知道对方是什么人的情况并不少见。这些现役球员认为对方只是普通球迷。

“They dont know the his-tory，”five-time champion Ron Harper said.“They just dont know.They dont understand it.”

“他們不了解历史。”五届NBA总冠军罗恩·哈珀说，“他们就是不知道，他们不理解。”

“What I hear through the Retired Players Association is that the younger players really have no idea about the past and the history，”Hall of Famer Dave Cowens added.“Yesterday，Caron Butler made the distinction between young baseball players and young basketball players.Young baseball players from，say，the Dominican Republic know who Roger Maris and Willie Mays are.I dontknow if todays young players from Europe know who some of the[legends]are，especially if they played in the‘60s and70s.”

“我在退役球员工会听到的就是，年轻球员真的不知道过去和历史。”名人堂球员戴夫·考文斯补充道，“昨天，卡隆·巴特勒明确提出了年轻棒球球员和篮球球员的区别。比如说，来自多米尼加共和国的年轻棒球球员都知道罗杰·马里斯和威利·梅斯是谁。我不知道现在来自欧洲的年轻球员是否知道过去的传奇，特别是1960年代，1970年代的传奇。”

Retirees have viewed this as a lost cause for quite some time，but individuals like Butler are hoping to mend the relationship between past and present players.The two-time All-Star recognized this problem as his playing career was winding down and its what motivated him to get involved with the NBRPA.He believes he can help bring the two groups together.

退役球员视之为长久的难以解决的问题，巴特勒这样的人希望能够修补。作为两届全明星球员，巴特勒在自己职业生涯进入末期时意识到了这个问题，这也是促使他参与退役球员工会的动力。巴特勒相信自己能将两个团体团结在一起。

“Listen，thats the main reason Im on this board，”Buffer said.“We have to repair this bridge between the current players and the people who paved the way-the true trailblazers in this game who helped give us this platform that allow us to make millions of dollars while doing something that we love.

“听着，这是我加入理事会的主要原因。”巴特勒说，“我们必须修复现役球员和开拓道路球员之间的桥梁，后者是这项运动真正的先驱，他们给了我们现在的平台，让我们能一边做自己喜欢的事情，一边赚几百万美元。”

Its worth noting that some retirees dont blame todays players for not knowing much about their predecessors.

值得注意的是，一些退役球员并不因为现役球员不了解前人的历史而怪罪他们。

“Back when we played，we were probably limited in the respect and reverence that we showed our predecessors”Hall of Fame finalist Sidney Moncrief said.“You cant know everyone.Players come and go.So even though Im a five-time NBA All-Star and two-time Defensive Hayer of the Year-whichis a status that 95 percent of players in the NBA right now will never get to-it doesnt mean todays players should know who I am.That Was solong ago！…I see todays players as very respectful.Andnow，withtodays technology，if they see a guy or hear a guys name，they can pull out their phone really quick and look them up.Thatshappenedtome afewtimeswith players.Theyll pull out their phone and[Google me].Then，theyre saying，‘Oh wow，you did this and that！”But I think its unfair to hold todays players to a standard where we expect them to meet us former players and know all about us on the spot.Time has passed by！That Was 30 to 40 years ago！”

“我们打球的时候，我们对前人的敬意也是有限的。”进入名人堂候选名单的西德尼·蒙克利夫表示，“你不可能知道所有人。球员来来去去，所以就算我五次入选全明星，两次当选最佳防守球员——这是如今95%的NBA球员做不到的成绩——但这也不等于现在的球员应该知道我是谁。那是太久以前的事了！我觉得现在的球员都很有敬意，加上现在的科技，如果他们看到一个人或者听说了一个人的名字，他们可以掏出手机迅速搜索。这种情况在我身上发生过几次，他们掏出手机搜了我的名字。然后他们会说，‘哇哦，你做到了这个！我觉得让现在的球员知道过去球员的一切，这是不公平的。时间过去那么久了！那可是三四十年前的事了！”

“FOR THE MOST PART，THEY ARENT AWARE OF[HOW FORMER PLAYERS PAVED THE WAY]，”KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR SAID OF TODAYS PLAYERS.“THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN THE NBA FIRST STARTED，IT WAS SEGREGATED.I THINK THATS WHAT[THE PROBLEM]IS.THE NBA DOES A GOOD JOB OF TRYING TO EDUCATE THE YOUNG GUYS.THE[ROOKIE]ORIENTATION THING THAT THEY DO，I THINK THAT HELPS.SOME OF THE GUYS DO GET TO THE P0INT WHERE THEY KNOW AND APPRECIATE [FORMER PLAYERS].

“最主要的是，他們不知道（过去的球员如何开创道路）。”卡里姆·贾巴尔这样评价现在的球员，“他们不知道，NBA刚成立时实行种族隔离。我觉得这就是问题。NBA在教育年轻球员方面做得很好，比如新秀培训，我觉得这很有裨益，有些人因此开始了解并尊重前辈球员的努力。”

Even if todays players dont have the best grasp of NBA history，they deserve credit for making some big changes that have benefited retired players in recent years.

即便如今的球员不完全了解NBA历史，但近年来他们让退役球员获益的努力，仍然值得赞许。

In 2017，player representatives from the National Basketball Players Association unanimously voted to fund health insurance for retired players and their family members.Anyone with at least three years of NBA experience received coverage for themselves and their relatives.This is something that retired players had askedf for since the 1990s，yet it wasnt passed until this current group of players voted it through two years ago.

2017年，NBA球员工会代表投票一致通过了为退役球员及其家人设立健康保险的提案。任何在NBA有至少三年效力经历的球员及其亲属都能得到保障。这是退役球员从1990年代就开始争取的权利，但直到两年前现役球员投票才得到通过。

“For along time，we had been pushing for health insurance for our retired players.Before，once a player left the game，their health insurance was taken away，”NBRPA Chairman of the Board Spencer Haywood explained.“A lot of our guys were having to work [in retirement]to make ends meet and keep their health insurance.Then， I spoke to LeBron James，Stephen Curry，Dwyane Wade，Kevin Durant，Chris Paul and the rest of the National Basketball PlayersAssociations Executive Board and they said，‘Hey，we can help you guys out.Well get you some health insurance.I thought [the coverage] would be something simple.But instead.theyre dropping over $15million per year to get us the same health insurance they have.I was just like，‘Wow”

“我们在很长一段时间里都在推动退役球员的健康保险。过去，一个球员离开联盟，他们的健康保险就会停止。”退役球员工会理事会主席斯宾塞·海伍德解释道，“很多人需要在退役后继续工作才能继续生活，拥有健康保险。但我和勒布朗·詹姆斯，斯蒂芬·库里，德维恩·韦德，凯文·杜兰特，克里斯·保罗以及球员工会执委会其他成员进行了交流，他们说，‘嘿，我们能帮忙，我们给你们搞定保险。我以为保险会是简单的事，但他们每年投入1500万美元，让我们拥有和他们一样的保险。我心想，哇。”

Retired players have plenty of lessons that they can pass on totodays players.Going forward，the NBRPA would love to create more conversations between former players and active players because it would benefit both parties.Butler has suggested carving out time for retired players to meet with current players during the season as well as during events like the Rookie Transition Program.

退役球员有很多可以传授给现役球员的经验。未来，退役球员工会愿意在前球员和现役球员间进行更多的对话，这可以让双方受益。巴特勒建议退役球员抽时间在赛季期间与球员见面，比如在新秀培训项目。

“You dont want it to be a situation where the older guys are constantly telling the young guys what to do because thats not going to fly，”Butler explained.“But they can help them，and they have a connection because theyve all gone through the same thing and faced similar adversity.”

“當然不想遇到老年人总是在教育年轻人做什么，因为那样年轻人就不可能起飞。”巴特勒解释道，“但他们能帮忙，而且他们有共鸣，因为他们经历过同样的事情，遇到过同样的挫折。”

Todays NBA players helped their predecessors get healthcare coverage after no progress was made for two decades.They also volunteered their own money in order to improve pensions.While they may not be as knowledgeable about NBA history as the retirees would like，the current players do seem open to helping where they can.

如今的NBA球员帮助他们的前辈获得了过去20年无法取得任何进展的保险，他们还自愿用自己的钱提高前辈的养老金。尽管他们对过去的了解没有达到退役球员希望的程度，但现役球员确实愿意尽可能地帮助对方。

Going forward，the hope is that individuals like Butler and Hill will only be able to further strengthen the relationship between the generations.Then，several years from now，current players like James.Wade and Paul will be retired and can continue their fight for the rights of former players from the other side of the table.

未来，外界希望像巴特勒和希尔这样的人能够进一步强化不同时代球员之间的关系。几年后，像詹姆斯，韦德和保罗这样的现役球员将会退役，他们也可以继续在谈判桌的另一边为退役球员争取更多权利。