Once the Heat advanced to the second round, murmurs surfaced from Miami that Chris Bosh, out since February with blood clot issues, is pressing the team to allow him to play. ESPN's Dan Le Batard reported that Bosh has received a medical opinion clearing him to play.
Who should decide if Chris Bosh plays?
The Heat superstar was pressing harder to convince the Heat to let him play after he suffered more blood clot issues in February, and even involved the players union. But the Heat were skeptical, the franchise is right to hold strong.
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The Heat aren’t having it, and Bosh continues to be listed as “out indefinitely.” Bosh and his wife have begun to press the issue on social media, and now the players union is involved. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that the union is seeking a meeting with the Heat on Bosh’s behalf. On Wednesday evening, Bosh was finally ruled out for the rest of the playoffs.
At the core of this issue is the best interest for Bosh’s health and future. This isn’t a typical basketball injury, one where the worst that can happen is an aggravation and potentially surgery or a longer recovery period. This is life and death. Bosh had a blood clot in his lung last season that forced him into a hospital and out of action. The blood clot was in his leg this year, but you can understand why the Heat are concerned. This isn’t a turned ankle, strained MCL or torn rotator cuff. This is harder and more serious.
What's interesting about this situation is that we aren't always used to teams protecting athletes from themselves. Consider Derrick Rose's battles with the Bulls, who had cleared him to play, but watched him sit for months due to his own discomfort. The franchise went on a covert media campaign to press Rose into action. Or think of all the resistance -- in the NBA as well as the NFL and other leagues -- to concussion tests and protective protocols. The default state of injury reaction in pro sports, at least until recently, had been for the franchises to push athletes to perform as soon as possible.
We have the opposite situation here: The team is being more protective than the athlete. Bosh wants to come back and help Miami reach the next round, where a potential series against old friend LeBron James looms. Bosh either thinks the risk of playing is small, or that the risk is worth it so that he can do his job. The Heat, who pay Bosh either way, don't think the risk is worth the reward. It's interesting that the Heat never ruled Bosh out for the season. They only determined that he is out "indefinitely." Did Miami think they could later be convinced by doctors it was safe to activate Bosh? Did they want to avoid an immediate battle with Bosh, who vowed in March to play again this season?
At the core of this drama was a simple question: Who decides if Chris Bosh plays? The Heat have this right: Both sides need to decide. Mutual assent is required because Bosh is not the only one affected if he plays and suffers for it. The Heat cannot be observers to Bosh’s return; they would be actively involved in his play, in multiple ways. From the amount of minutes he’d play, the pregame and postgame battery of tests he’d need to complete, the team’s travel schedule -- the Heat would have a huge role and a constant stream of decisions to make if Bosh came back at this point. This isn’t an individual sport, so individual determinism isn’t appropriate. It is unworkable to allow one party to rule in favor of greater health risk over the objections of the other party. Just as it’s wrong for a team to cajole an injured athlete to play, it’s wrong for an injured athlete (albeit “injured” in an unfamiliar way) to cajole a team to let him on the court.
The players union is well within its right to seek to mediate, and Bosh should feel free to continue to make his case to management. But in the end, this isn’t solely Bosh’s decision to make. There are myriad impacts on the Heat, and the franchise has every right to protect itself and one of its stars, even if said star is willing to risk it all.
If the Heat cannot be convinced to let Bosh play, then this issue rightfully had to be put to bed for the rest of the playoffs.
