[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

 

 

To Each & Every Player,

After the latest round of meetings, I thought it would be best to update you personally as to where the leadership of the National Basketball Players Association stands, where the negotiations stand where we are headed and the reasons why.

 

 

Without a doubt, someone will be leaking this. I know it. The moment you read this you will know it. So, I say all with the fullest transparency.

 

 

I was elected as your President. By you. For you. I take great pride and am honored to serve the over 400 members of our association. I and our Executive Committee take this job and this role seriously and will not agree to an unfair deal on behalf of you and our players. Period.

 

 

I’m not looking out just for the marquee guy, I’m looking out for the guy that dreams of being a professional basketball player and gets a minimum deal. I’m not just trying to protect the guy on a team in a huge market. I’m protecting the player that is in a small market with incredibly loyal fans.

 

 

I’ve made it clear, I want to play. You have each made it clear, you want to play. The fans have been unwavering, they want their basketball. The thousand of employees that work in the arenas, the ticket offices, the concession stands, they want a season. We all want to go back to work.

The league and the team owners have locked us out. This was not our choice. Our employers decided to stop allowing us to do our jobs.

 

 

My job since July 1st is to find a solution. To find an outcome that protects each of you and your livelihoods and continues to allow us to play the game we love so much and the fans love supporting.

Since before the lockout began, I have spent hours upon hours, days, months, years, working on preparing you, the fans and the media about the possibilities. Now as the lockout has set in, reality of the situation is here.

 

 

The most recent meetings in New York were effective. What you have been told by your agents, representatives and the media is probably speculative and inaccurate.

What actually happened in those meetings was discussion, brainstorming and a sharing of options by both sides. The turning point this past Tuesday was not a disagreement between the players and the owners. It was actually a fundamental divide between the owners internally. They could not agree with each other on specific points of the deal and therefore it caused conflict within the league and its owners.

 

 

So it is our hope that today, Thursday, at the owners meeting in Dallas that they work out their differences, come up with a revenue sharing plan that will protect their teams and are then ready to come together and sign off on the agreement we as a smaller group deemed reasonable.

Decertification seems to be a hot button issue today in the media. So I’d like to address it. I’ve read yesterday’s stories and find the position of these agents interesting. I have made myself available to each and every agent. But not once have I heard from them. If they are so concerned about the direction of the union, then why have they not contacted me? Each and every one of them mentioned has been in meetings with me. I’ve answered their questions, I’ve been told they support you, their players and our Players Association. So if there is a genuine concern, a suggestion, a question, call me. Email me. Text me. I’m working tirelessly each and every day on behalf of the over 400 players that they represent. Working for nothing but the best interests of THEIR guys. I don’t make a commission, I don’t make a salary for serving as President. I have NO ulterior motives. None.

It is because they have not come to me once that I question their motives.

 

 

I work every day on these negotiations. I work so that each player from Blake Griffin to Tyler Hansbrough, Pau Gasol to De’Andre Jordan, Dwight Howard to Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson to Danny Granger, Steve Nash to Luke Babbit and every single player get a fair and reasonable deal. Not just for this year, not just for next year but for years to come. So that the league that WE the players largely helped build, continues to grow and thrive.

 

 

So to address the agents that have decided to say their piece yesterday, I don’t mind. Perhaps they are trying to make news. Perhaps they just want to show you, their clients, they are working hard. But what would be appreciated by the 400+ players would be the support of our agents and constructive ideas, suggestions and solutions that are in our best interests. Not the push for a drastic move that leaves their players without a union, without pensions, without health care. We just aren’t there.

 

 

I will remain committed to finding resolution to this because I know how important this is. I ask you to remain united with me and your over 400 allies, friends, brothers and colleagues. We are a powerful group if we remain united and focused on the task at hand.

 

 

I urge every single one of you to call me, text me, email me with anything. An idea, a suggestion, a concern, a question. I represent you. I work for you.

 

 

So to each player, each fan, each agent, each media member who ends up reading this…I stand behind this message. It comes from me, a 15 year veteran of basketball, the game I dreamt of playing as a kid, the game I love so much. I’m a teammate, I’m a father, I’m a son, I’m a husband, I’m a brother, but right now, the role I must work so hard to honor is the one as PA President. And I ask each of you to stand with me, stand by me and urge the league and the owners to come together and allow the game of basketball to continue to grow and thrive. We’re ready.

 

 

Sincerely,

Derek

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/09/15/derek.fisher.letter/index.html

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 great post mikey…

i really hope and pray there will be a season

[Toronto16Participant]

What the heck?  Luke Babbit got a shout out?

[PyronParticipant]

 all i have to say is that fish is the man! lets get this lockout over with!

 

[andxxxParticipant]

 It seems owners are more divided than previously believed and on another note:

 

[tke744Participant]

man i really hope thats true about what he about the owners being divided. That just shows you they didnt come to the table to negotiate. Wouldnt you all agree before hand on what you want so in case a deal is made you wouldnt have this happen to you!

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

About DeMaurice Smith (head of the NFLPA). Apparently meeting with players today. Also credited to Sam Amick, dude is a machine today:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/09/15/demaurice.smith.nba.labor/index.html?sct=nba_t11_a0

[PrecociousNeophyteParticipant]

 hahaha churchboy1, I was going to say the same thing about Babbit.

[goneParticipant]

I didn’t get this…..gotta check my spam box

[Jlv2011]

the lockout will be over soon.  The NBA is a business and businesses can’t afford to take days off.

[PyronParticipant]

 honest.. i’m praying for the lockout to end soon. the only sport i really watch is basketball. i’m from toronto sooo what else am i suppose to watch. hockey!? hahaha no thanks!!

 

by now i’d be getting myself pumped and ready for nba fantasy leagues 🙁

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

I feel your pain of living in this hockey city (Yes, churchboy, it is). Still, I have hope for a season, even if it has to be shortened. Honestly, while the last lockout shortened season was kind of weak, it still gave us some great moments, probably the most Toronto has ever had with Vince Carter making his debut. While Stern seems to say that the owners are united on the front of obtaining a hard cap, it seems as if the amount would be up for discussion. The players do not want to abandon the current system, as it is working very well for them, but some concessions will need to be made. Owners tend to have the resources needed to win these things. I tend to side with the players, but I honestly just want them to make some progress so we can start a healthy 2011-12 basketball season.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Another Sam Amick SI article, this time interviewing Derek Fisher. It is on the main page under "News", also, if you missed it:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/09/16/derek.fisher/index.html?sct=nba_t11_a0

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