Stern: Greedy Agents Threatening Deal
NBA Commissioner David Stern blamed “greedy” agents Saturday for trying to scuttle a new labor deal with NBA players and believes they are trying to push their clients into a “losing strategy” of disbanding their union.
Stern said neither the threat of decertification nor any request from the players’ union will change the league’s negotiating position, repeating there would be no further discussions about the revised proposal it offered Thursday.
Stern said he fears the players aren’t getting the proper information about the contents of the proposal because NBA agents are worried it will cost themselves money.
National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern speaks during a news conference alongside fellow union members after a marathon meeting with the Players Association, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in New York. The league presented the players’ association with a new offer Thursday after nearly 11 hours of bargaining, hoping it would be enough to end the lockout. However, union president Derek Fisher said it doesn’t address all the necessary system issues that are important to the players.
“By some combination of mendacity and greed, the agents who are looking out for themselves rather than their clients are trying to scuttle the deal,” Stern said in a phone interview. “They’re engaged in what appears to be an orchestrated Twitter campaign and a series of interviews that are designed to deny the economic realities of the proposal.”
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