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(NBA player) Chris Paul: A Union Chief They Can't Knock Off
In an inspired choice, the players of the National Basketball Association have elected Chris Paul as their new union president. Known as CP3, Paul is a great choice for a union coming out of a period of turmoil. This is not only because of his smarts, commitment to community outreach, and proven ability to lead. He is a great choice for the simple reason that his on-court ability insulates him from being banished by league executives and team owners who like unions about as much as David Stern likes baggy jeans.
Paul is a 28-year-old star at the height of his powers. The first-team All-NBA point guard just signed a guaranteed five-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers. That immediately puts him on firmer ground than union leader/players in the other major sports who found themselves ostracized, blackballed and almost certainly colluded against after challenging ownership in the negotiating room.
(snip)
If linking these stories sounds like a conspiracy theory, that’s because it is. But the root on this conspiracy is not the fevered imagination of someone in their basement with a wall-sized spreadsheet detailing all the players who became high-profile collateral damage for daring to stand up to the sports bosses. The conspiracy rests in the fact that the NHL, the NBA, the NFL and the NFL referees were all locked out over the last two years in efforts to weaken their unions, and as I wrote at the time, all the owners in all the leagues are represented by the same bare-knuckled law firm, Proskauer Rose.
A uniform strategy to lock out athlete/workers is something we’ve seen with our own eyes. The fact that this has been followed by the blackballing of player leaders shouldn’t surprise but it should be acknowledged. It should also be seen as a high-profile affront to the most basic and fundamental rights to organize.
Paul is a 28-year-old star at the height of his powers. The first-team All-NBA point guard just signed a guaranteed five-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers. That immediately puts him on firmer ground than union leader/players in the other major sports who found themselves ostracized, blackballed and almost certainly colluded against after challenging ownership in the negotiating room.
(snip)
If linking these stories sounds like a conspiracy theory, that’s because it is. But the root on this conspiracy is not the fevered imagination of someone in their basement with a wall-sized spreadsheet detailing all the players who became high-profile collateral damage for daring to stand up to the sports bosses. The conspiracy rests in the fact that the NHL, the NBA, the NFL and the NFL referees were all locked out over the last two years in efforts to weaken their unions, and as I wrote at the time, all the owners in all the leagues are represented by the same bare-knuckled law firm, Proskauer Rose.
A uniform strategy to lock out athlete/workers is something we’ve seen with our own eyes. The fact that this has been followed by the blackballing of player leaders shouldn’t surprise but it should be acknowledged. It should also be seen as a high-profile affront to the most basic and fundamental rights to organize.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/175863/chris-paul-union-chief-they-cant-knock#
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