It was March of 2005.  Vince Carter had recently been traded to the Nets and Chris Bosh was the Raptors new superstar in waiting.  More playing time resulted in a huge surge in his points-per-game average and the youngster was now being viewed as the face of the franchise.  Bosh had been anointed the leader around whom Toronto would build.

The timing was perfect for Frozen Pond to bring in-store our first ever basketball player as an autograph guest.  We had to keep in mind that basketball players are not hockey players.  Our ice heroes are well known to be the friendliest of the four major sports groups.  We had some involvement in one prior basketball experience and it was not pleasant.  Damon Stoudamire had agreed to do an appearance for a friend of ours, and matter-of-factly cancelled the night before.  But we figured that aligning ourselves with the Raptors most marketable player could only have positive benefits.  After all, what could possibly go wrong?

I arranged to pick Bosh up at his downtown condo on the Saturday of the signing at 3:00 p.m.  We had scheduled the public appearance to begin at 4:00, so this allowed plenty of time for us to get uptown to Frozen Pond and for Bosh to sign all our pre-ordered (mail order) merchandise.  I buzzed Chris from the lobby at 2:45 and he said he would be right down.

3:00 p.m. came and went.  3:15.  3:30.  3:45.  4:00 – still no sign of Bosh and my calls to him were going unanswered.  At 4:15, Chris came out of the elevator – with his mother, cousin, and a couple of friends.  Since Bosh is quite large (6’10”), there was no way all those people were going to fit into my vehicle.  Chris’ cousin went to get her own car.  Now it was 4:30. 

Bosh and his mother Freida drove with me.  I love the drives up to the store with the athletes.  This is where the bonding experience takes place.  This is where we spend time in uninterrupted conversation and where I get to learn the personality of the player.  Except in this instance, Bosh decided that taking a nap was more important than acknowledging my questions.  Luckily Freida was very conversant and pleasant.

We arrived at the store just before 5:00 p.m., almost an hour after his scheduled starting time.  The crowd was large, but I was told it was even larger before a number of frustrated people had asked for a refund and left.  Normally when a player is late, I keep in contact with the store so they can inform the customers of a new timeline.  In this instance, I had no idea what was keeping Bosh or what time he would be arriving in his lobby, so we were as much in the dark as the customers.  I was never given a reason why I was kept waiting for so long.

We sat Bosh down at the autograph table immediately upon his arrival.  He did not address the crowd or offer any kind of apology for his tardiness, in fact, he barely spoke to people at all.  He spent long periods of time watching the NCAA tournament game on one of the televisions.  He repeatedly checked his phone and sent text messages, often at the same time while he was signing an autograph.  Not only did he not answer people when they asked questions, he did not even look at or acknowledge them.  I learned the hard way why basketball players have the reputations they do.

Freida Bosh, on the other hand, was phenomenal.  She bought all the Raptors mini-basketballs we had and gave them to kids standing in line.  She talked to everyone about Chris and what it was like being the mother of an NBA star.  But it would have been nice if she talked to her son about respecting his fans.

We had paid for a two-hour appearance.  Chris got through the line and signed the mail order items in about 90 minutes.  We pulled out a pile of basketballs and photos for him to sign for our own stock.  He signed for about 2-3 minutes, and then got up to watch some more of the basketball game.  His cousin told me not to worry; that he would sign the remainder of items before he left.  Shortly thereafter, he walked out the door.  His cousin gave me a look of “Oh well – I tried” and then disappeared into oblivion herself.  A drawing that a child had made for Bosh was left sitting behind on the table.

We immediately put in a call to Bosh’s agent’s office.  We explained that he came late, left early, and was quite rude to the public.  The gentleman we dealt with agreed that this type of behavior was not at all acceptable and said he would make sure the remainder of our items would get signed.  A few days later, I received a phone call from a higher ranking person in the same office who decided that Chris had upheld the terms of his contract and we had no further autographs forthcoming.  I repeatedly asked how leaving half-an-hour early could be deemed as meeting the requirements of our agreement and was never given an adequate answer.  I was basically told I was SOL.

This agent did ask how many customers had been given refunds and said she would send me that money as compensation.  I guess that $400 got lost in the mail.  She kept telling me that she heard how Freida had bought everyone basketballs.  I agreed that Freida was great (although Chris signed all those balls for free – hence cutting into my profits), but that didn’t change Chris’ commitment to the appearance.  After several weeks of getting nowhere, I sent an email to Chris’ cousin.  I told her that I had 400 unsigned photos leftover, and I would let her keep 300 of them if Chris signed the other 100 for us.  I thought it was a fair offer, and she knew we had been rooked in the deal.  I received a reply from her telling me that I have to deal with the agent.  So much for compassion.       

I then had to decide if I wanted to sue Chris Bosh.  I would have won.  I took it to my lawyer and the breach was obvious.  Bosh upheld few of the “implied” terms (be cordial, be pleasant, smile) and violated several of the stated ones (arrive late, not stay for agreed upon length of time).  It was ludicrous that the agent did not want to make me happy, especially after her underling had agreed that Bosh defied our agreement.

In the end, I just let the whole thing go.  It would not be in my best interests to sue a local superstar, especially one that plays on a team also owned by the local hockey club with whom I do a lot of business.  Bosh could have soured my name in the dressing room, and who knew if I ever needed him for something again.  It made sense to leave open the option.

It’s not the first time I was finagled by a professional athlete, but it never gets easy to deal with.  Bosh was paid an obscene amount of money for writing his signature, and the least he could have done was uphold the terms of his contract.  Who knows, maybe he was having a bad day, or maybe he grew up in a sheltered environment and no one told him what was expected of him.  I think we all know that’s not the case here, but why not offer a possible excuse for his behavior?  Bosh was well-known for his philanthropy while in Toronto, as well as his work with youth groups.  Unfortunately, I was preconditioned to never get that warm and fuzzy feeling when I read about such efforts.

Have fun in Miami, Mr. Bosh.  You certainly didn’t make any friends under this roof.  Hopefully the Florida sunshine will help warm your personality to the public.