A group of powerful NBA agents who for months had been pushing the leaders of the National Basketball Players Association to disband as a union was considering its options last week, including filing its own player-client lawsuit or holding a decertification election.
The decision by the NBPA leadership last Monday to dissolve the union by disclaiming interest stunned the agents, according to three sources close to the group. Said one source, “Frankly, it was a shock after 4 1/2 months of [NBPA Executive Director] Billy [Hunter] saying he was not going to do it.”
A flurry of conference calls among the agents, their players and their own antitrust experts, including San Diego-area attorney Len Simon, ensued. At the beginning of the week, agents were angry and were looking at taking a different path to dissolve the union and filing their own lawsuit — actions that could be viewed as contrary to the action taken by NBPA leaders.
By week’s end, the mood had changed. One source noted that the group has respect for attorney David Boies, who was hired by the NBPA to oversee the two lawsuits filed last week on behalf of the players. Said another source close to the agents and the players, “The players really like David Boies.”
Sources said that while a filing of the agents’ own was not as likely by week’s end as it was midweek, the agents were keeping their options open while watching what Boies was doing on behalf of the players.
Sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the agents.
The agents — a group that includes Mark Bartelstein, Bill Duffy, Dan Fegan, Leon Rose, Jeff Schwartz, Arn Tellem and Henry Thomas — have refused public comment on their plans. They have been consulting with antitrust and class-action attorneys, including Simon, since at least mid-October (SportsBusiness Journal, Oct. 17-23).
Before last Monday’s decision by the NBPA, agents had been gathering player signatures on a petition to file with the National Labor Relations Board to decertify the union by a vote of the players. That would have required signatures of 30 percent of the players — together, the agents represent more than 30 percent of NBA players — and sources close to the agents said the push might have precipitated Hunter’s decision to voluntarily dissolve the union. Hunter could not be reached for comment by press time.
Agents in the group had been angry that Hunter pursued an unfair labor practices charge with the NLRB rather than file a disclaimer of interest back in July, when the NBA first locked out the players. Agents saw that filing as a sign that Hunter was choosing labor law over antitrust law, which they didn’t think was the right strategy.
The status of that NLRB claim was unclear at press time. The lawsuit filed by Boies in the U.S. District Court in Northern California stated, “The NBPA withdrew an unfair labor practices charge that it had filed against the league with the National Labor Relations Board.” A spokeswoman for the NLRB, however, said the board had not received word from the NBPA about whether it was withdrawing the claim.
NBA agents and other sources said that although NBA players were heartened by Boies’ involvement, there remained late last week confusion and frustration among players, especially players who called for the NBPA to decertify back in July. While it also was not clear late last week what action the group of agents might take in the days and weeks ahead, it was certain those agents would continue to stay involved. “I think the agents feel this is where it is now because of their involvement,” said a source close to the group.
