NBPA officials did not tell NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that players were planning a boycott of games prior to the decision to issue a lifetime ban to Clippers Owner Donald Sterling, NBPA First VP Roger Mason, Jr. and special assistant Kevin Johnson said Thursday. "A boycott was never mentioned in my conversations with Commissioner Silver,” said Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento who led the NBPA’s discussions with the league about what punishment Sterling should receive. “He made his decision not because of a threat, but because it was the right thing to do and quite frankly, he exceeded all of our expectations." Mason on Tuesday told reporters that players across the league were preparing to boycott NBA playoff games as early as Tuesday night if Silver had allowed Sterling to continue to own the Clippers. He said Thursday, “Mayor Johnson didn’t even know about a boycott until the day that Adam Silver announced the punishment.” The talks between players about staging a boycott did not start until Monday night and continued to gather steam Tuesday morning, Mason said. But Johnson was not part of those discussions. “We had told Mayor Johnson that we would not accept anything less than a lifetime ban and a change in ownership and if that did not happen, we were prepared to do something about it,” Mason said. “What (Silver) knew was the players were not going to accept anything less than a ban and a change in ownership. That was all Adam Silver knew. He knew there was something the players would do. He did not know what that something was.” NBA Exec VP/Communications Mike Bass: "The commissioner was not aware that players were planing a boycott" (Liz Mullen, Staff Writer).
OUTSIDE INFLUENCE: In N.Y., Harvey Araton looks at Johnson's role in the Sterling ruling, as he was "able to channel the growing anger among the league’s players" and outlined steps that were needed "to keep the situation from veering out of control." The NBPA's response was "notably galvanized from the start." Sources agreed that Johnson, with NBPA President and Clippers G Chris Paul's "continual input, had Silver’s attention almost from the start once Sterling’s comments became public." Johnson in an e-mail Thursday wrote, "The past few days galvanized the players and they showed the powerful influence they have when they speak in one voice. Situations like the one the players faced this week will build the NBPA into a stronger union" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/2).
WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN: Cavaliers G Jarrett Jack on Thursday during an appearance on KGMZ-FM said that NBA players should "take a strong stand if Sterling still owns the Clippers when next season starts." He said, "The thing I would propose is that nobody plays another game for the Clippers as long as that man is in control. We don't play another game until that man is removed -- as a league" (CLEVELAND.com, 5/1). But in DC, Rick Maese writes the NBA "won’t likely be free from the residual effects of the controversy" anytime soon. The scandal has "prompted walking-on-eggshells discussions about the culture of the NBA and the power dynamics between owners and players, loaded language and all" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/2).
