Bill Russell defends David Stern in racism row – NBA Update
NBA legend Bill Russell has stood up for David Stern after a recent racism row in the NBA labour dispute.
The legal counsel for the National Basketball Players Association, Jeffrey Kessler, said in an interview last week that the NBA and Commissioner Stern were treating players like plantation workers, but Russell has dismissed the
assertion.
“I think that's an invalid accusation,” Russell told CBSSports.com in a phone interview.
Stern had also been labelled a plantation overseer by sports show host Bryant Gumbel last month and has been viewed increasingly negatively as the NBA lockout continues to tumble on, with evidence pointing towards the fact that
greed of the owners is creating more and more problems.
The attack by Kessler came after another lengthy and frustrating negotiating session, but Bill Russell believes the matter at hand has nothing to do with race.
The Boston Celtics great called the NBA to show support for Stern and said normal bargaining was going on between two parties, nothing more.
“I think the whole deal is not about black and white. It's about money, OK? I don’t see any signs of being greedy. It's a typical negotiation and that's all it is. And there are a couple of reasons it's difficult, because there's
hard-liners on both sides.”
Russell is one of the most revered figures in basketball history. He has won the most number of NBA World Championships ever with 11 and was a pioneer of the players’ union and player rights. He advocated during the interview that
important matters were under consideration in the ongoing labour negotiations and the accusations emanating from both parties were nothing more than sideshows.
“But to me, the name-calling or vilifying the other side is a non-issue,” Russell said. “All that is is a distraction -- a distraction from the task at hand, which is reaching an agreement that neither side will probably be completely happy with. But that's
the art of compromise.”
Stern himself had reacted angrily to Kessler’s comments and deemed the lawyer counterproductive to the negotiating process. Stern labelled Kessler as routinely despicable and said that he was a hindrance to both sides reaching
a compromise over key matters.
Before Russell, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson also dismissed the comments by Kessler as ill-advised and off the mark. Johnson argued that Stern had worked hard over the years to promote tolerance and diversity in the
NBA. It was with Stern at the helm that the NBA had become the most diverse sports entity in the world, not just in terms of players but also with coaches and executives.
Therefore Kessler’s comments appeared totally inept.
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