Kings guard Mitch Richmond, who has filed an unfair labor
charge against the NBA, "is gathering player signatures in an
effort to start a new union," according to Roscoe Nance in USA
TODAY. Mike Sharpe, Richmond's financial advisor, says 211
signatures are enough to start a new union: "We've been very
successful" (USA TODAY, 9/19).
THE BEAT GOES ON: Today is the NLRB's deadline for appeals
against the decertification election and ESPN's Jackie MacMullan
reported last night: "There will be an appeal filed [today], and
right now, again at this hour, they're discussing whose names
will be attached. I will not be surprised if Patrick Ewing is
among those who puts his name on this appeal, he is very
disappointed in a lot of his fellow peers who were very involved
in this decertification process, said they were going to vote for
decertification, got scared, and voted the other way. Patrick is
standing his ground on this" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 9/18).
EWING STANDS TALL: In an interview with MacMullan in
today's BOSTON GLOBE, Ewing "acknowledged it will be difficult to
perpetuate the decertification movement, but he's willing to
continue the fight." Ewing: "I don't care what the fans think.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing. I stood
up for what I believed in. Too many others guys backed down
because they were afraid. ... What the people need to realize is
the owners locked us out. The best way to get back to work, plus
negotiate for what we deserved, was the route we took. It didn't
have to come to this. Our union leaders didn't take care of
business. They need to go." Ewing has not spoken to NBA
Commissioner David Stern recently, but he has "no ill feelings"
toward him. Ewing: "I wish Stern was head of our union. He did
his job. He fought for his people." MacMullan notes, if he is
booed, Ewing will "take solace in the fact that he fought for his
people, too." Ewing: "Too many people turned out to be cowards.
You might not have agreed with me, but I believed in something,
and I stepped up. There aren't many other guys who can say the
same thing" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19).
