Wayne Embry’s Book Takes Shots At Commissioner And Others

In his new book, “THE INSIDE GAME: RACE, POWER AND POLITICS IN THE NBA,” written with MARY SCHMITT BOYER of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, basketball HOFer and former NBA GM WAYNE EMBRY “fires some verbal darts” at NBA Commissioner DAVID STERN and Mavericks coach DON NELSON, among others, according to Kerry Eggers of the PORTLAND TRIBUNE. Embry “accuses Nelson of racially prejudiced remarks.” Nelson’s response to Embry’s charges, through Mavs reps, was, “I’m not going to go there.” Embry, who served on the NBA BOG and competition committee, also served on a panel to address “problems of the NBA game in the late ’90s.” Embry says he “proposed inviting a social scientist to the meeting to give a refresher course in sociology and got a cold response from Stern.” At a competition committee meeting soon after, Embry “raised his hand as the commissioner was speaking. Stern stopped in midsentence and said, ‘Here goes Wayne, picking on me again.’” Embry writes that, a few minutes later, Stern said to him, “Wayne, you should think about retiring.” Writes Embry: “I knew my days in the NBA were numbered. He controlled so much that happened in his NBA, and I had the feeling he did not like to be questioned about how the league was run.” Stern had no comment on Embry’s charges, but said, “Wayne is great for the league” (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 12/21 issue).