NBA Commissioner David Stern's "new crusade [is] Reefer
madness," according to Carol Slezak of the CHICAGO SUN-
TIMES. Slezak wrote that lost in this "emerging power
struggle" between Stern and the union over marijuana is the
issue of whether the NBA "has a marijuana problem. Is it
the dazed and confused league? Or, perhaps more important
in the league's eyes, is that the public's perception?"
Slezak: "I find all this talk about marijuana testing
somewhat dizzying. If only the NBA -- and the rest of us --
were half as concerned with alcohol abuse." She added if
the league "does have legitimate concerns" about marijuana,
it doesn't need drug testing as team "owners already have
ultimate control over this issue" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/11).
LABOR UPDATE: On ESPN, David Aldridge reported that
members of the NBA's Competition Committee were told during
All-Star Weekend by league execs "that as many as 17 teams
could lose money this season. The league claims that more
than a third of its teams lost money last season, up from a
handful of teams just three years ago" (ESPN, 2/12).
