[ESPN]Players suing NBA

majority of em dont like it,if it helps tmac and co,i am all for changing it back.

 

I'm glad that the players are taking a stand. David Stern is having too much power right now. The main purpose of the ball change is suppose to help the players, but David Stern made this change into a profits only kind of thing by totally ignoring what the players have to say.

 

death to all tyrants!!!

 

These guys need to grow up. Collect your ridiculously large paycheck and shut the hell up.

 

Sic semper tyrannis!!!!

 

NBA you have a problem

I for one am tired of David Stern running the league like a dictator with an iron fist. The decision about the new ball particularly irks me and according to Ray Allen nobody likes the new ball, I hope the players win this one and take Stern down a peg.



http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...F?slug=ap-players-grievance&prov=ap&type=lgns

Players union files suit vs. NBA

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
December 1, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- The players' association filed two unfair labor practice charges Friday against the NBA over issues with the new ball and the league's crackdown on player complaints.

The charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board.


"I think that's right within the NBA's wheelhouse," Dallas owner Mark Cuban said. "They say the NBA stands for `Nothing But Attorneys,' so we're going to be great at dealing with those issues."

A number of players publicly have complained about changing the ball from leather to a microfiber composite. Although players are adjusting to the new ball, they're having a much harder time with the crackdown on reactions after the whistle, often referred to as a "zero-tolerance policy."

NBA commissioner David Stern enacted the policy, saying players were reacting too strongly after calls, and it has led to an increase in technical fouls called this season.

"It takes away from your natural reaction, the things that make basketball what it is," said Jerry Stackhouse, the Mavericks' player representative. "You think Bill Bradley never hit the support after he was called for a foul? That's the model citizen of all former NBA players. It's just a natural thing to do."

With players fined for each technical they receive, union director Billy Hunter told The Associated Press last month that legal action could be the next step if Stern didn't tell the referees to "back off."

There have been 175 unsportsmanlike technicals called through 225 games this season. There were 120 through the same number of games last season, though the number is on par with the amount from two years ago.

"Our obligation to represent our membership dictates the filing of these actions," Hunter said in a statement. "There is virtual unanimity amongst the players about their concerns and intense dislike for the new synthetic ball and the 'zero tolerance' policy.

"After extensive consultation with our membership and player leadership we determined that this was the appropriate course of action."

Some players still seem most upset about the first change to the game ball in more than 35 years.

"Honestly, it gets to a point where, you can change the way our shorts are, you know, you can change if our wristbands are too high, you can change the dress code," LeBron James said. "That's something that's controllable. But when it gets to the point where you change the basketball which, this is what we use every single day. Every single day, every single minute, 82 games. Plus preseason, plus playoffs. It just kind of didn't make sense.

"The only thing that we love the most is the basketball. That's your comfort. I mean, without your basketball, it doesn't work. That was my biggest problem, was, why would you change something that means so much to us? It didn't make sense to me at all."

Added Seattle's Ray Allen, one of the NBA's best shooters: "Every guy I've talked to, to a man, is in disagreement about the ball. The bottom line is we're out there playing and the ball is not going in like we know we're capable of putting it in, or like we've done in the past."

NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said the league was "reviewing what they have filed."

The players feel they were entitled to have input on both changes before they were put into play. In its release, the union said the "zero-tolerance policy" was implemented without any consultation or advanced notice as required "according to the terms of the National Labor Relations Act and the 2005 NBA/NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement."

"You never want to feel that the NBA's a dictatorship," Wizards veteran Antonio Daniels said.

The section of the CBA regarding On-Court Conduct, states, in part:

"Prior to the date on which any new rule promulgated by the NBA becomes effective, the NBA shall provide notice of such new rule to the Players Association and consult with the Players Association with respect thereto."

The crackdown isn't a new rule, however, but rather a point of emphasis. Under Stern's directive, players are fined $1,000 for each of their first five technicals. The fine increases by $500 for each five after that, capped by a $2,500 penalty for each one starting with the 16th. A one-game suspension also comes at that point and for every other technical thereafter.

"To give a technical foul, it's giving money back," Stackhouse said. "If it's a technical foul, all right, penalize the team. But don't take guys' money for natural reactions toward heat of the moment things. We're not robots. They would say they don't want us to become robots, but that's what it's becoming.

"Everything doesn't have to be we're going to show you by taking your money away. A thousand dollars is a thousand dollars, no matter whether you are making $9 million or $30,000."

Players also argue they weren't involved in the decision to use a new ball. The league unveiled it in June and sent one to its teams and all players before the start of training camp. It also was used in the All-Star game and during summer league play.

Superstars such as Shaquille O'Neal and James are among those who have blasted it, and many others have complained that it feels and performs far differently than the old leather ball, criticizing the way it bounces off the floor and the rim.

"I was surprised when they announced that they were changing the ball," Sacramento's Shareef Abdur-Rahim. "That shouldn't happen without some input from the players. I've never cared for the new ball, and I'm a big guy. When ballhandlers like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are complaining about it, that says a lot."

 

Its about time.

They need to re-elect some officials also

 

ain't that the truth.. the refs they have now probably used soccerballs when they first came into the league.

 

I absolutely agree

its getting ridiculous

 

I agree and disagree with you.

If you had a job that required a special tool. And your job up and changed that tool, and told you; you cant use the old one, even though the old one worked better. You would be mad too.

 

i wonder how far this will really go since they filed a formal complaint. At the same time it's hard to disagree with the fact that Stern really brough the NBA back into the spotlight with his moves. So at the same time he has done the right things through the years with his decisions.

 

I understand being upset. But I wouldn't file a lawsuit against my employer because they took away a tool I liked and gave me one that I don't think works as well.

And are there even any statistics that show that the new ball is making a difference in player performance?

 

Wow! This guy is completely out of touch with reality. Being someone in the $30,000 neighborhood, I can say that if someone took $1000 away from me, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent and I would living in my car. So I don't think someone making $9 million is really in the same boat.

 

My understanding is the Union's main piece of evidence is Steve Francis' scoring has dropped 47% vs his career ave.

 

My sentiments exactly.. If at all it helps T-mac shots even just a little % higher change the ball back

 

The NBA makes a lot of money. The players simply earn an appropriate percentage of that profit, you know, since the league wouldn't exist without them.

If they have a problem with what they view as unfair policy changes in their job, they have just as much a right to dispute it and take legal action as any other labor union, regardless of how much money they make.

 

I can understand them being upset about changing the ball, but I like the "Don't whine like a little b**** after every call" rule and it's not like it hurts the game any.

 

The NBA like all employers should listen to their Employees and Stern has made it known he doesnt care what they think. So I imagine the lawsuit was last resort. IMHO stern needs to be knocked down a peg or two.

The inmates should not run the prison, but we arent talking about prison, we are talking about grown men who have a job to do, the players have a job, but so does Stern.

Its crap to say, and I quote: "The stance at the NBA head office is; If its not broke, break it and make it better."

That has to be the dumbest thing ever said.

 

I can understand the complaining about the ball. really, they should be involved in that decision. the whining however, i just don't understand how these players don't understand that the anti whining rule is for their benifit. it really shows how out of touch they are with the fans. I am the first person to defend the players, but the b****ing after each and every call had to be stopped. it really got out of hand in the past ten years. and the fans noticed.