NBPA did not involve players in making the crucial decision on Monday – NBA Report
Yes, it is official that the players association have rejected NBA’s latest proposal before the deadline day and the league is now heading towards a ‘Nuclear Winter’, a term used by the Los Angeles Lakers future hall of famer Kobe Bryant referring to a complete season wipe out.
On Monday, 30 representatives from each team and 20 other players gathered in New York to take vote on whether to accept the revised proposal offered by the NBA Commissioner David Stern which he referred as the best deal. The players at the meeting not only voted to reject the offer, they also agreed to decertify the union and indicated the NBA owners to meet in court.
While the majority of the players present at the meeting definitely wanted to shoot down the deal and do what National Football League (NFL) did few months back by taking the matter in court to resume business. However, one big question has cropped up that whether this is what the whole union would have voted for.
As the players association never did a complete polling to take the viewpoint of each member, there is a feeling that fifty odd players have risked the future of all NBA players by making a decision what they felt was right. In fact, many reports have started to argue that the owner’s latest proposal would have been accepted if the union had taken the votes from the players as well and not just from team’s representatives.
One report strongly opposed the working of the union and also quoted the legal counsel of the union Jeffrey Kessler, who also believes this is not how union works.
“The gist of the response was that you cannot give your adversary direct access to the membership. “That’s not how any union in America, that I’m aware of, operates,” said Kessler. If the NBA is just going to send offers straight to the players, why even have a union? The idea is that the union is savvier, and knows a good deal when it sees one.”
Houston Rockets veteran guard Kevin Martin also does not believe in one players representing the decision of all. Martin said that everybody has the right to vote and it should have been done that way.
“I think it’s fair for every player to have a vote, because we’re all grown men and it’s time for the players to control their career decisions, and not one player per team. If it comes down to a final decision, you got to be fair.” Kevin Martin said.
Whatever the case may be, the fact is that the union has now rejected league’s latest proposal and thinking about decertification which David Stern refers as a losing strategy.
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