Police reasoned that the lights hang over the street, and they were concerned that someone might attempt dropping objects on the double-decked buses carrying Laker team members and their families or the crowd below.
A resounding “no” was the response by the city’s
general services department, saying:
…applying the grease was a "risk management issue."
Police commanders lost the argument even after responding that the same thing could be said for not doing it.
There was no mention of the cost involved in greased lighting poles or the degreasing.