Incensed by the way the Chicago Bulls’ front office treated Jimmy Butler, the All-Star forward’s trainer, Travelle Gaines, sounded off on GM Gar Forman on Twitter with one succinct tweet on Thursday. Gaines had the freedom to let loose on Forman because Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the start of Thursday’s NBA Draft, and now that he was reunited with his former coach Tom Thibodeau, the All-Star’s trainer decided it was time to let off steam about how Chicago’s front office treated his client.
It turns out Gaines isn’t the only one who is frustrated and angered by Forman and the rest of the Bulls’ front office. Bulls fans have reached a boiling point as well, especially one enterprising fan named Brendon Henderson, who has started a GoFundMe just to put a billboard in a high-traffic area in Chicago calling for the firing of Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxon, as well as the ouster of team owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
From Henderson’s GoFundMe page:
It’s time to raise our pitchforks everyone. Reinsdorf and GarPax have made the Bulls the laughing stock of the NBA for far too long.
This past NBA draft is the final straw. Not only did we trade Jimmy Butler for a value equivalent to a Diet Sprite and a Snickers bar, but we traded away one of the best defensive talents in the 2nd round for… cash??? Yes the Reinsdorf and GarPax figured the best idea to go about a rebuild is to sell our draft picks for cash…
Henderson then outlined his plan. For $2000, an ad calling for the firing of Forman and Paxon will go up on a digital billboard near the United Center. There is another tier as well, but the granddaddy of them all is at the $10,000-15,000 level, which is for a billboard in “the most high traffic area in Chicago.”
Henderson also notes that if they don’t reach their funding goals, all of the funds and even any excess money will be donated to the South Side YMCA of Metro Chicago. However, the GoFundMe page has eclipsed the $2,000 mark and is getting a steady stream of donations of all amounts, so at the very least, an ad on the digital billboard near the United Center will be going up.
Of course, this billboard likely won’t make changes in the Bulls’ front office actually happen. But at the very least, it will let the Bulls organization know that their fans are fed up and won’t take their team being mismanaged for that much longer.
(GoFundMe)
