A LOOK AT THE 1992-93 NBA SEASON : Laker Fans Deserve Sign Team Cares

The Lakers do not owe anyone a refund.

Since Magic Johnson’s re-retirement Monday, the team has been approached by a number of ticket buyers who believe their money has been taken under false pretenses. Some of them have appealed to me to appeal to the Lakers on their behalf.

Sorry. I can’t.

The Lakers no more owe the public a rebate now than if Johnson had suffered a broken leg.

If you had voted for Ross Perot and he had won, and a month later he became too ill to serve in office, then in January you would witness the swearing in of James Stockdale as the President of the United States.

You make your pick and you take your chances. It isn’t fraud. It’s the way the system works.

And it’s the same way with buying tickets.

But the Lakers do have a public-relations problem on their hands, and I hope they appreciate it.

If tomorrow Diana Ross announced a reunion with the Supremes, and then sold tickets for a nationwide tour, you wouldn’t like it much if she changed her mind, kept your money and told you to go watch the Supremes sing without her.

Magic Johnson announced a reunion with the Lakers, then never showed up. It isn’t a scam. It isn’t his fault, and it isn’t false advertising.

But it sure is a lousy deal for everybody.

One day after Johnson’s announced comeback--announced at the team’s place of business with team officials in attendance--ticket sales went through the roof. Individual ticket sales were estimated at 30 times higher than normal. Season-ticket packages went like hot cakes.

The Lakers are selling a product. Their courtside seats already are the most expensive in the game--and perhaps in the history of sport. The Lakers make so much money that they have nearly $20 million to give to Magic Johnson for not playing.

They say they have no obligation to pay back one red cent to any customer, and technically they are right. As a team spokesperson said: “We don’t refund tickets because, if we did, then we would be guaranteeing a player’s appearance--not just for our team, but for any team.”

OK. True. Yet isn’t there some sense of conscience that would permit the Lakers to see this situation as an extraordinary circumstance?

After all, Magic Johnson is not “a player.” For many, he is the player. He is the only reason many people purchased these tickets.

The consumers may comprehend the caveat of “let the buyer beware,” but isn’t it also true that the Lakers are acting in good faith here? Could they not at least make a gesture of offering refunds to anyone who can prove that the tickets in question were purchased between Sept. 30 and Nov. 2?

Like I said, they don’t have to. They can take the money and run and gun.

Said an NBA official: “When you go to a Broadway play and an actor is out, you don’t get a refund. They just say that so-and-so is not playing and will be replaced by somebody else.”

Yes. Certainly. If you buy “Phantom of the Opera” tickets a year in advance, and in between Michael Crawford leaves the cast, chances are Davis Gaines or someone else will go out there and do his best and it will be pretty darned good. Maybe even better.

That’s the NBA’s way out. That’s the loophole.

But is this the way the Lakers and the league want to do business? When people in Portland paid full admission to see an opponent billed as the Los Angeles Lakers, and Pat Riley held out several of his best available players, the NBA fined the Lakers $25,000.

It was a gesture . It was a way of saying: “Look, we’re sorry. You didn’t get what was promised. We don’t have to do this, but consider it our way of saying thanks for your support. And y’all come back.”

What if Larry Bird tomorrow announced a change of heart? What if the Boston Celtics called a news conference to say that Bird was back? Wouldn’t you feel gypped if you shelled out a bunch of money for Celtic season tickets, only to be told a few days before the first game that Bird had again changed his mind about playing?

Because that’s what Magic Johnson did, you know. He changed his mind. He didn’t break his leg. His doctor didn’t declare him unfit to play. He quit.

Did he do it to defraud anybody? Of course not. Did he do it to bilk the Lakers out of millions of dollars? Don’t be ridiculous. You know Magic. You trust him. You saw him out there trying.

Johnson owes no one a thing. Neither do the Lakers. But it has become increasingly clear that this is a bottom-line firm that gives mainly lip service to matters of character. It hasn’t mattered what Earvin Johnson or James Worthy or Anthony Peeler do away from the court as long as they keep playing, and apparently it doesn’t matter what product the customers are paying for as long as they keep paying.

I wish the Lakers would make a gesture.

But they don’t have to.