More billionaires lock out more millionaires

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As we are in the first week of

July we have another lockout, only this one involves the NBA. Two

of the three most popular team sports are in the midst of labor

strife. The NFL has gone more than 100 days, and now the NBA will

follow suit.

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Aside from

the players being locked out from their training facilities and not

receiving medical benefits for themselves and family, there is

nothing much going on, unless you are a free agent in search of a

team. As for the benefits, any player who cannot afford benefits

should not be concerned about physical health but perhaps mental

concerns. Between being warned two years ago that this may happen

and the salaries they make (an average of $4.5 million between the

two sports), there are no excuses nor pity.

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In case you

are wondering what this is all about, let me give you a quick

summary. The owners in both sports are reeling from bad deals their

commissioners (Paul Tagliabue of the NFL and David Stern of the

NBA) did in the previous contracts with the players. The revenue

did not grow like they thought, yet the salaries did. The owners

continued to spend despite all the warning signs, and the players

kept cashing the checks.

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It did not

help when NBA owners were giving maximum deals to players who were

not worthy of such a financial commitment, as many find themselves

out of the league and still counting money.

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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Head

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Now David

Stern wants another crack at union head Billy Hunter, one of the

best executive directors in sports that you never hear about.

Hunter’s diverse background includes a stint as a professional

football player with the NFL’s Washington Redskins and Miami

Dolphins, and as the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District

of California at San Francisco.

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Hunter

graduated from Syracuse University, where he was captain of the

football team. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Howard

University Law School in 1969 and an LLM (Master of Law) from Boalt

Hall Law School at the University of California-Berkeley in 1970.

Hunter served several years as a prosecutor in the Alameda County

District Attorney’s office, and as the chief assistant in the San

Francisco District Attorney’s office.

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In 1977,

President Jimmy Carter appointed Hunter to the position of U.S.

Attorney. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he supervised the

investigation and prosecution of members of Jim Jones’ People’s

Temple, the Hell’s Angels and the Church of Hakeem. He was selected

by the U.S. Attorney General to advise President Carter on the

pardon of Patricia Hearst.

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From 1984

until his appointment with the NBPA, he managed his own law firm

specializing in municipal finance, entertainment law, white-collar

criminal defense and other high-profile civil litigation. His

clients included City of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, MC

Hammer, Deion Sanders, Ricky Henderson, Pebbles, Dick Griffey,

Solar Records, De Passe Entertainment, The Luniz, RJ

Reynolds-Nabisco and Phillip Morris.

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So now you

know why the NBA players get paid and why the lockout may take

awhile. 

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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Contraction

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Now we have

the two combatants. On the owners’ side, David Stern helped save

the league from ruin in the eighties.

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The issue is

one move, as Stern wants to reduce salaries by one-third across the

board. That is a lot no matter what the numbers are. The owners are

claiming they are losing millions and perhaps they are, but no one

from the players’ side seems to believe the numbers as the NBA has

been accused of creative bookkeeping.

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There is one

other element that will raise an eyebrow: contraction. The NBA has

floated that balloon before, but with the way the salaries are

growing for bad players, the reduction of two teams is

real.

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Fewer teams

would mean that you can weed out the players who have been

siphoning the salaries for so many years with little result. The

games would be more competitive, and the season would be reduced

where every game now counts. It would also make the European and

other international markets more competitive. The down side would

be the loss of jobs, from players on down to the beer

vendor.

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There will be

some blood shed on this one, as the owners have not forgotten how

this thing shook out the first time and they will want more than a

pound of flesh. Each side has been talking for two years with no

deal close to done, and a lockout may not budge them either. Though

with so many smart people involved here compared the the NFL

circus, there could be hope.

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At some point

you have to wonder when will people stop caring how billionaires

and millionaires work things out. I have already started to lean in

that direction, and a slight breeze may just carry me to the side

of really not caring at all.