Who knew NBA Commissioner David Stern was such a big fan of the film “Friday?” How else can we explain Stern’s recent attempts to “Deebo” the NBA players into agreeing to the most recent owners’ proposal?
Here are a few recent strong-arm remarks Stern has made through the media:
- “If the union is not in existence, then neither are 4 billion dollars worth of guaranteed contracts that are entered into under condition that there’s a union, Stern said. “So if the agents insist on playing with fire, my guess is that they would get themselves burned.”
- “[Players’ attorney Jeffrey] Kessler got his way and we’re about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA.”
- “It’s all in the hands of the players…If this offer is not accepted, then we’ll revert to our 47 percent proposal.”
- “There comes a time when you have to be through negotiating, and we are.”
While bluffing, leverage and hard-line stances are often a normal part of negotiations, Stern is pushing them through the media to make the players look like greedy imbeciles.
The truth of the matter is lockouts, by definition, are driven by the owners. Unhappy with their previous collective bargaining deal, owners are demanding players take pay cuts. Players are not asking for more money. They’re asking the owners to take less.
However, that logic falls short with many fans, who see the multi-million dollar contracts and feel that players should be grateful for the opportunity to earn such huge paydays. Stern is aware of this sentiment, and has been milking it for all its worth, taking it to TV, Twitter and YouTube, at the detriment of successfully completing negotiations.
Imagine your bosses locking the doors to your office and demanding you take a paycut. Next imagine them going on national television and remarking how big of an idiot you must be not to kowtow to their demands.
So to no surprise, the players have decided to stand up to the billionaire bullies and attempt to proceed via the legal wranglings of decertification and anti-trust lawsuits. All signs point to a long and bitter battle.
But ultimately business is business. Both sides have the right to negotiate for the best deal. But David Stern (and the league) is best served by keeping his mouth shut and leaving the blame game to Kanye West. As history has shown, fans don’t have much sympathy when millionaires fight with billionaires. Both sides stand to lose from a long, bitter public battle.
