A Miami lawyer who went to see the Miami Heat play the San Antonio Spurs in November decided that since he didn't see what he wanted on the court, he's taking the Spurs to court.
Miami lawyer Larry McGuinness is filing an anti-trust lawsuit against the Spurs organization, claiming that they violated Florida's anti-trust laws when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich opted to sit his stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and key reserve Danny Green when they played the Heat in a 105-100 Spurs loss that night.
"The NBA is a star-driven league where you go to see the star players," said McGuinness to NBC's local Miami news affiliate. "When they are not there, it really takes away from the experience."
The game drew national attention when Popovich opted to send his stars home before the nationally televised game took place, Popovich citing the need to rest his aging stars after an intense road schedule leading up to the Miami game.
NBA Commissioner David Stern took disciplinary action against the Spurs, fining the organization $250,000 as a result, stating that San Antonio violated league policy against resting players "in a manner contrary to the best interests of the NBA."
In his suit, McGuinness claims that he paid top dollar for the tickets to the game to see San Antonio's stars play LeBron James and the Heat, but the Spurs' pre-emptive decision to rest them broke the state's fair trade law.
"It was like going to Morton's Steakhouse and paying $63 for porterhouse and they bring out cube steak," McGuinness told ESPN.
A spokesman for the Spurs told ESPN that the organization would not comment on the matter.
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