Arbitrator John Feerick "ruled yesterday that the NBA
does not have to pay 226 players with guaranteed contracts
during its lockout, rejecting a grievance" filed by in June
by the NBPA, according to Asher & Bucher of the WASHINGTON
POST. The ruling "enables the league to continue the
lockout without having to pay approximately $800 million in
salaries" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/20). NBPA Exec Dir Billy
Hunter said the union won't appeal the ruling (Mult.,
10/20). After the ruling, NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik "seemed exasperated" that the players will meet in
Las Vegas Wednesday through Friday, and put off negotiations
until next week: "We're missing games. We're losing our
season" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/20). NBA Commissioner David
Stern said he could not understand the negotiating delay and
the players' meeting in Vegas: "This (ruling) should have
been a signal that we return to the table today. Instead,
the players are being told by their union to miss another
week of work" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/20).
UNION ZEALOUS: In Orlando, Tim Povtak writes that the
ruling "severely weakened the bargaining position of the
union, which may begin to splinter soon" (ORLANDO SENTINEL,
10/20). But after the ruling, Hunter said, "If you thought
the guys were zealous about staying committed now, they're
probably even more rabid than before" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
10/20). USA TODAY's Roscoe Nance writes that part of the
players' "willingness to fight is based on the idea that
players with guaranteed contracts will receive full pay once
an agreement is reached." Hunter: "Our position is that any
salary that is lost or missed by those players who have
guaranteed contracts, we're going to insist it be made up."
Granik: "That doesn't even make sense to me. ... Those
dollars have been lost. They lost the arbitration" (USA
TODAY, 10/20). Stern: "The players don't seem to realize
they can't get that money back. It's gone" (Toronto GLOBE &
MAIL, 10/20). In Denver, Mike Monroe: "Instead of spurring
both sides back to the table, the ruling may have further
polarized the parties" (DENVER POST, 10/20).
HUNTER CONTINUES TO TALK TOUGH: Hunter said yesterday:
"What the owners may not realize is that if they continue to
antagonize the fans in the way that they are, the fact that
the players may be forced to miss a few paychecks may be the
least of our worries. ... The product may suffer enormous or
irreparable damage" (David Steele, S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/20).
MORE LOCKOUT FALLOUT: Stern was asked about MSG
President Dave Checketts' remarks last week regarding the
lockout and called them "ill-timed and intemperate," but
that he only warned him about future remarks. Stern: "He
promised he would never do it again" (S.F. CHRONICLE,
10/20)....In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence writes that the next round
of regular-season cancellations, "likely wiping out the rest
of November, will come next week when the Board of Governors
meets" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/20)....Feerick said in his
ruling that "in the past, the union never contended that
players with guaranteed contracts were entitled to be paid
during a lockout" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/20).
