The NBA lockout is "reaching into the wallets of corporate
America," according to Peter May in yesterday's BOSTON GLOBE.
May reports that on Friday NBA teams were told the league
canceled its biennial meetings scheduled for September 14-17 at
Walt Disney World. May also reports that the NBA has canceled
next month's marketing and sponsorship meetings in San Diego.
May: "The next landmark on the calendar is Oct. 6, the scheduled
date for the opening of training camp. However, the Houston
Rockets are scheduled to play in the McDonald's Open in London
Oct. 19-21 and that won't happen with out a settlement" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 7/16).
MAYBE THE KIDS CAN GO TO DISNEY WORLD INSTEAD? The first
"local fallout" of the NBA lockout in Denver struck at
Duncanville's Ninth Grade School," writes David McNabb in the
DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The Mavs' summer youth camp "would have to
do without the team's players as guest speakers because of the
lockout." Grandparent Charles Russell: "That's life in big-time
sports." Camp director Jim Guy said player appearances are "only
a small part" of the camp, but the team is offering refunds,
although "no one has left" because of the situation (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 7/16).
CAN WE TALK? Negotiations between the NBA and its players'
union to revise a proposed deal are tentatively scheduled to
resume July 25 (WASHINGTON POST, 7/16).
ALL SIDES SPEAK OUT: Yesterday's issue of the WASHINGTON
POST featured a full-page of op-ed pieces from Knicks' Center
Patrick Ewing, NBPA Exec Dir Simon Gourdine, and NBA Deputy
Commissioner Russ Granik. Excerpts follow: EWING, ON THE AIM OF
"DISGRUNTLED PLAYERS": "Like all workers, players wanted to be
treated fairly. We want to have some say over where we work and
live. And we want some protection if we are severly injured or
disabled on the job. The contract proposed by the league would
have denied players all those things." ON DECERTIFICATION: "We
are not in any way trying to destroy our union. To the contrary,
we want it to continue to represent the players as a trade
association, just as the American Medical Association represents
doctors. We just don't want the union to engage in collective
bargaining, because it would deprive the individual players of
their legal rights." GOURDINE, ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:
"Ultimately, the NBA agreed that the players would share in all
'Basketball Related Income' (BRI), which includes all league and
team revenue sources except licensing revenues. Licensing was to
be covered by a separate agreement under which the players'
overall annual share whould have been increased from $500,000 to
a minimum guarantee of $25 million per year against a percentage
that may well produce a much larger amount. With the additional
revenue base, with the increased benefits we were able to
negotiate, and with the increased money from group licensing, we
had assured that NBA players as a group would receive substantial
increases in compenstation in each year of the agreement." ON
DECERTIFICATION: "The players would risk losing the 1995-96
season if the NBA implements its stated intention to shut down.
Even if the season is played, upon decertification, the NBA could
dictate all terms of employment, and the players would be at the
mercy of their teams with no union to intercede on their behalf.
Meanwhile, antitrust litigation could well take many years to
resolve, and the ultimate outcome of such litigation is at best
uncertain." GRANIK, ON DECERTIFICATION: "Decertification will
only serve to create chaos and uncertainty, which will give the
NBA owners no alternative but to continue the current shutdown
indefinitely. ... If we do not recognize that we are now in a
process of mutual self-destruction, then we've learned nothing
from what's happening in other sports" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/16).
FADING SUPERSTAR? ESPN's Dick Schaap: "As I recall,
Michael Jordan, the guy who said he was quitting basketball two
years ago because he wanted to spend more time with his family,
quit baseball this year because, among other things, he said he
didn't want to get in the middle of a labor dispute. Now, if I
understand it right, Michael Jordan is in the middle of the labor
dispute in basketball." Schaap said Jordan "is not very good at
saying what he means, and meaning what he says. If Michael
doesn't say what he means about labor disputes, how do I know if
he means what he says about sneakers?" ("Sports Reporters," ESPN,
7/16).
