Insurance Issues Might Not Let Marcin Gortat Play for Poland in FIBA EuroBasket – NBA Lockout
Insurance issues, aggravated by the NBA lockout, have created yet another news story. Marcin Gortat is the latest to be involved in a predicament regarding his participation in FIBA Eurobasket with his native country Poland.
Gortat’s agent claimed that he might not be able to play for Poland as his insurance is not being covered. The amount Poland is willing to offer is not enough to compensate for a serious injury.
Usually, it is the NBA teams who cater to these issues of the players; however, the lockout means that the players are no longer a responsibility of the teams. Hence, it is all down to the national teams to somehow arrange for
the insurance of such high profile players.
France is one the very few teams who has arranged for complete insurance of its players, in lieu of the current lockout situation. This has allowed players like Tony Parker and Joakim Noah the flexibility to play for their nation
without worrying about a long term injury.
Although there is still hope that matters will sort out between Gortat and the Polish national team, Marcin’s agent Guy Zucker has shown a rather pessimistic stance towards this whole issue.
As it stands, Marcin has three years and a $22 million contract still left with Phoenix Suns. Although Gortat has agreed to play if his first two years are covered, he has not been able to negotiate any solid deal with the insurance
companies. Zucker stated that Marcin loves his country and really wants to represent his nation.
“He really wants to play and loves the national team,” Zucker told The Republic. “He’s the most important player on the team and was going to be the captain. He’s really unhappy. He’s a very proud citizen and wants to represent
them. He’s definitely not a happy camper but he’s got $22 million coming and can’t make an emotional decision. This is a business where the phone stops ringing when you get a serious injury.”
It is expected that all parties will end up losing out on the possible perks of Gortat playing for Poland. Gortat will be missing out on his dream to represent his nation; Poland will miss out on their best player and captain;
and the Suns will miss out on the potential experience Marcin could have gained during the summer.
The polish fans are also quite upset over this situation. If indeed the matter does not get resolved, they will miss out on their star man, which could severely hamper their chances of progressing to the latter stages of the tournament.
The current insurance issues have affected all European nations who had representatives in the NBA. A serious injury in case of no insurance might cause players to lose millions of dollars.
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