The Loquatious Jayson Williams Comments On The Players Need To Cast A Vote

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

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                    Ex-Sixer: Let players vote on offer

                               by Phil Jasner
                         Daily News Sports Writer

Jayson Williams didn't read the latest 20-page letter sent out Tuesday
night to every NBA player and union executive director Billy Hunter by
commissioner David Stern.

Williams, the New Jersey Nets' All-Star center, said he was too angry, too
frustrated. As the lockout winds inexorably toward Stern's Jan. 7 deadline
to cancel the season, Williams just knows he would prefer the total union
membership have a chance to vote on the owners' final proposal.

"I don't know what's in the proposal, I can't keep up with all the
nonsense," Williams said. "A week ago, I decided I was going to approach
this as if I had a career-ending injury and wasn't going to play.

"All I know is, we can put a 125-year-old man [ in space, a reference to
astronaut John Glenn ] , but we can't get a collective bargaining agreement
done for $2 billion for the world's greatest athletes. If we can't split $2
billion, it makes us all look unintelligent."

Williams insisted he was "for the union," but called for a vote. He said he
believed the players would accept the deal, said he was angry at both sides
and termed them "idiots" for allowing the dispute to go on.

While Williams was attending a press conference in Easton, Pa., where
former 76ers and Nets center Darryl Dawkins was being introduced as the
coach of the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs, of the United States Basketball
League, Hunter was sending out a four-page response to Stern's letter.
While Stern was saying "we request and strongly urge that you put the NBA's
final offer to a vote of the entire union membership," Hunter was saying
the owners have not "met us halfway yet, and we are not prepared to
recommend that you accept this proposal."

Stern wrote: "While it is, of course, your prerogative to reject our
proposal . . . the consequences of that decision will be so catastrophic to
your members that simple fairness suggests that they be given a chance to
be heard."

Even though Stern has said there would be no further neogotiations, Hunter
and the National Basketball Players Association's negotiating committee
were preparing their own final offer in an attempt to save what's left of
the season.

"I have called David Stern and requested an opportunity to present it to
the owners' labor [ relations ] committee as soon as they're available, and
certainly before the Jan. 7 deadline," Hunter said.

Patrick Ewing, the union president, said the proposal should be ready by
tomorrow. Stern has said that if the union does not accept the owners'
offer, he will recommend canceling the remainder of the season. If that
happened, it would be unprecedented in major professional sports in North
America.

The labor dispute is not only awash in dueling proposals and letters, it
also has become inundated with conference calls. Among those, a group of
nine agents spoke Tuesday and the full agents advisory committee met by
telephone yesterday. In another conference call Tuesday, the players agreed
to support the union. It remains unclear whether, at some point, the
players will vote, either on the owners' offer or an offer from the union
recommended by Hunter.

A person familiar with the details said that more than 25 voices of the
roughly 240 on the players' call said they would rather see the season
canceled than accept a bad deal.

Ewing said the players would not vote unless it was requested by a
majority. Ewing said "we put the question to them . . . and as of [
yesterday ] no one had called." Seattle's Jim McIlvaine, a member of the
negotiating committee, offered to speak privately with concerned players,
but got no response.

"The committee's job is to do the will of the majority of the players,"
McIlvaine said. "If we get indications that they would like some proposal
voted on, we'd have to follow through on it. But reading about it in the
paper or hearing it from an agent doesn't cut it for me. I need to hear it
from the players."

In any case, emotions are beginning to run thin. That includes feelings
toward agent David Falk, who has been portrayed as having too much
influence with the players. Ewing and vice presidents Dikembe Mutombo,
Juwan Howard and Alonzo Mourning are Falk clients.

"When David Falk said to me directly that he does not want a season, that's
fine as part of your rhetoric, but if he's saying it to me, why is he so
involved and constantly telling us he's entitled to give his clients
advice?" agent Steve Kauffman said. "And if that's the case, why do I want
him giving advice when he doesn't want a season? My intimation from that
is, he wants to start his own league."

Agent Frank Catapano was angry he was portrayed in some circles as pushing
for a vote of the players.

"I'm totally for the union, although eventually I think the players should
vote on whatever deal Billy presents to them," Catapano said. "I don't
agree with everything, and I don't believe anyone agrees with everything,
but we have to stick with the union.

"I've talked to a lot of agents about where we are, what we do if the
season is canceled. But if someone's saying I'm pushing for the players to
vote, it ain't me. And I spoke to the union about that. If the union says
it's satisfied with a deal, then I'll be satisfied. I feel nothing is worth
losing the season, but you dance with who brought you.

"We haven't hit doomsday yet. I could be way off, but I believe we have a
70 percent chance to have a season. But 30 percent is still a big slice."

Stern's final offer includes two salary-cap exceptions, one that could be
used annually, one semiannually, by each team. He has also now included the
ability of teams to "sign and trade" players, but only if the contracts are
for three years or more. The union continues to have concerns with the
status of middle-level and minimum-salary players, the escrow system,
timing rules on the signing of free agents, the elimination of clauses that
allow players to terminate contracts early and rules on the league's
ability to discipline players and administer drug testing.


  ©1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.