Are Players Agents forcing NBPA to decertify? – NBA Special Report
NBA player agents have recently come under fire from some veteran players and analysts, who believe they are pursuing a course counterproductive to the interests of their clients. The agents have been labelled as selfish and people
have accused them of trying to take advantage of the current crisis in the NBA in order to increase their own power.
However, those claims seem a bit farfetched if the chronology of events leading up to them is analysed.
NBA player agents have been strongly linked with a move to “blow-up” the National Basketball Players Association. The NBPA is the representative body of the NBA players and has been engaged in negotiations with the league over
the labour dispute that has caused such an upheaval in the basketball community. The lockout started on July 1st when the NBA owners and the union failed to reach a deal for the new CBA before the old one expired.
The lockout is still going strong and the players seem to have dug their heels in over a number of issues, the most prominent of them currently being the salary cap. Their stance on the salary cap proved to be the main sticking
point in the meeting last Tuesday that was branded as disappointing by both sides.
While the players and the owners went away from the meeting seething and held briefings on Thursday to determine future course of action, there were strong rumours of player agents gathering forces in order to get the union decertified.
In fact there was a report that 5 powerful agents had held a meeting in order to discuss how they can force the issue on the matter. The agents believe that the owners are not serious about saving the season and want the union
decertified in order to file lawsuits in federal court.
That was met with harsh criticism by some players who have stated that they will not break up the union. Further, Executive Director Billy Hunter has continually stated that a decertification is simply not on the agenda.
In the agents defence, powerful agent Mark Bartelstein has said that nothing could be further from the truth. The agent revealed that he is fully supportive of the players union and wants to work with them in order to bring a positive
resolution to the NBA lockout.
Bartelstein spoke to Sports Illustrated recently where he claimed he has not been pursuing a union blow-up at all. The agent went on to say that from day one his agenda has been to support the union and provide any assistance that
he can.
"My goal has never been to have two separate tracks. My goal from Day 1 was to be unison with the union. We're all in this together. We all have the same goal, which is coming up with what's best for the players and what's best
for the game.”
Bartelstein also said he speaks to Billy Hunter and wants to work with him to resolve the crisis without the need for a breakup of the union. They are on the same page.
“I reach out to Billy all the time. I haven't talked to him in two days. I want to strategize with Billy. I've been doing this for 25 years. I feel like I have a really good feel for the business, and I want to work with him to
come to a resolution. I'm hoping to talk to Billy [on Monday] maybe."
In addition, there is no proof yet that the agents have pursued this course, or tried to get paperwork signed from any player that is required for the decertification. The notion that they are working on their own agenda, for now
at least, seems to have been manufactured just by the media.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
Tags: