Peter May: United Agents And Union Discuss New League

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

                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

                                NBA agents express solidarity with union

                                By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/22/98

                                Another league? Decertification? Radical splinter groups?

                                Most of the big-time NBA agents met yesterday in Las Vegas for about three
                                hours and came away convinced that the Players Association is in good hands,
                                at least for now, under the stewardship of executive director Billy Hunter and
                                president Patrick Ewing.

                                While expressing satisfaction with the leadership, the agents discussed the
                                formation of a new league, staffed with the available free agents, and decided
                                that decertification should be a back-burner issue for now.

                                Hunter told reporters after the meeting that ''we've got solidarity. The
                                players are together. The fight is just beginning.''

                                NBA players have been locked out since July 1, when the collective bargaining
                                agreement expired. Negotiations for a new deal have produced threats and
                                counterthreats but little more. The NBA already has canceled the first two
                                weeks of the regular season - the first time in the history of the 52-year-old
                                league that meaningful games have been lost to a labor impasse. It is expected
                                that the league next week will pull the plug on two more weeks.

                                On Monday, the union suffered a setback when arbitrator John Feerick ruled
                                that players with guaranteed salaries are not entitled to be paid during a
                                lockout. Against that backdrop, the Agents Advisory Committee, with more than
                                20 members, met yesterday at Caesars Palace to discuss the situation.

                                ''The unanimity was surprising,'' said agent Keith Glass. ''Everyone is behind
                                Billy. There was a lot of passion in that room.''

                                Added agent Steve Kauffman, ''There was tremendous unity behind Billy Hunter
                                and the union. Almost to a man.''

                                The agents decided not to pursue decertification, which was a high priority
                                during the 1995 lockout. Agent David Falk, who led the decertification charge
                                three years ago, said yesterday that 1998 is quite different from 1995.

                                ''We have a unified union, which we didn't have three years ago,'' Falk told
                                reporters. ''I think three years ago, we felt that the union was not on the
                                right track.''

                                Added Hunter, ''Decertification is an option, but we didn't think it was
                                necessary at this point.''

                                As for a rival league, the agents discussed the concept and Kauffman said ''it
                                was talked about seriously. If the people want to see basketball ... ''

                                Many of the free agents, including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Charles
                                Barkley, are marquee players who would be attractive to any new league. The
                                agents are also united in their contempt for the league's latest bargaining
                                proposal, so, as Glass put it, ''a number of alternatives were discussed.''

                                Asked about a new league, Glass said, ''I don't know how far it went. Yes, it
                                was discussed, but no one wants to [con] the league or try to think they're
                                scaring the league. There weren't a lot of specifics, but there seemed to be a
                                general embracing of the concept. But I also think that people felt that the
                                purpose of anything like that would be to actually do it and not to use it as
                                a bargaining tool.''

                                Jordan would be an unmistakable lure. Asked how his client might feel about a
                                new league, Falk suggested to reporters that Jordan answer the question
                                himself. Jordan is scheduled to be in Las Vegas today, along with several
                                other big-name players such as Karl Malone and Pippen and regular working
                                stiffs, for a status briefing by Hunter.

                                Hunter said he would like to return to the bargaining table as soon as
                                possible. The NBA was critical of the union's two-day foray to the desert at
                                the expense of negotiations. Hunter said he would leave Las Vegas tonight and
                                hinted that talks could resume as early as tomorrow.

                                ''It doesn't take anything more than a call,'' Hunter said. ''As soon as I can
                                get out of Las Vegas, I'll call.''

                                This story ran on page E02 of the Boston Globe on 10/22/98.
                                © Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.