LeBron James

Thanks.

Anyhow, I think he's got ZERO chance of winning such a case . . . I know he's said he wanted to get the GED, and then declare, but the NBA specifically states that players can enter the draft after their class has graduated. And seeing as how even if he gets a GED, his class will not have graduated, he can't be in the NBA draft.

I think this is more just a bunch of hoopla by the media, but time will tell I'm sure.

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I'm looking for a job, so hire me


"And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."

 

Who wants to bet Jerry Krause drafts him number one over Jason Williams next year?

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He won't draft him because he's not a power forward.


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President of the Eddie Griffin fan club.

Reggie McNeal will take A&M to the Big Game and I'll be there!!! Go Aggies!!!

 

Where did you see the stuff about him suing? In all the articles I've read, everyone else is saying "he's good enough to play in the NBA right now!", but I've never read anything from him on the subject.

I may have missed something in the articles though.

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I'm looking for a job, so hire me


"And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."

 

Vengeance,

how do you know there's do chance he's going to win if it went to court? Did you know that the first high schooler grad to skip college had to sue the NBA? Did you? Did you? It went all the way to the supreme court. I just saw an espn classic showcase on it last week and for the life of me I cannot remember his name. He went on and played for Seattle, NY, and somehwere else, and was an All Star, but also had some drug problems. So, it leads me back to my original question, how do you know? Just because the NBA says so? Golf said Casey Martin couldn't ride, but he rode...come one man, give me a better reason. Let's say the NBA specifically says asians aren't allowed to play. So are you going to say there's zero chance of an asian playing in the nba cause it is specifically stated? This might turn out to be hoopla and it might not.

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If LeBron James tested the limits and entered after his junior year in high school, he would win. It doesn't matter what the league stipulates. Any challenge by James stating his case to make a living will supercede league rules. I don't think any league has ever been successful in trying to limit athletes from declaring for the draft.

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This is the way I see it:

The NBA is a private organization with certain rules for membership. One rule for membership is that your HS class has to have graduated. His will not have. Thus, no dice. Private organizations have rules, and they CAN exclude people. As long as the NBA is not excluding him on the base of race, religion, or other such factors, it appears to me that he just has to wait it out.

I think this is different from the Casey Martin thing in this sense: Casey Martin was physically disabled. The sport was not really excluding him from membership persay, but it was not accomidating for his play under the "Citizens With Disabilities Act".

LeBron doesn't have the same type of case as Casey Martin. And your "Asian exclusion rule" is different as well -- that is on the basis of race/nationality.

Furthermore, the NBA is not saying that LeBron cannot be in the league. He just has to wait until he is eligible.

I also disagree with the "I need to make a living" defense. He can make a living doing things other than playing basketball. Just because that's what he WANTS to do, doesn't make it what he HAS to do to make a living.

IMO, this is a can of worms the NBA DOES NOT want to get into. We've seen all the fan anger, etc. about all the high schoolers in this draft. Then imagine someone who basically bucks the system entirely, and bolts after 3 years of HS. I think your average Joe-Fan would be very, very irritated that this is going on.

I'm not against High Schoolers in the NBA, I just think that LeBron would not win this battle. He would only be held back because his class hadn't graduated yet -- it's not the same as being held back by race, religion or a disability.

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"And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."

 

Good Answer Vengeance,

But still,

1) This ain't race discrimination but it is still age discrimination, no matter what the rule says, and even if he will be able to play later, if he can't play now soley because of his age than it might be illegal. Especially since kids his age can work.

2) The biggest point. Did you know that the NBA had this rule where high schoolers could not play hoops and the guy (who for the life of me I still cannot remember his name) sued the NBA and it went all the way to the supreme court and he won and became the first ever player to go to the NBA without going to college? Did you know that? That's the biggest point. The NBA was a private org yadda yadda yadda and they LOST in court. There's precedence now. It's weird cause when people talk about highschoolers goin pro, it's all TMac, Kobe, Kemp and Moses Malone, but there's never any press about this dude (except that whole espn classic special i mentioned).

So Vengeance, point 2 is the big one. Do you know anything about that circumstance? It's a real question cause I don't really know much about it other than what was on TV. I'm wondering how that would compare to LeBron James, since it's the closest thing I could think about comparing it to.

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Kim,

I agree with you. The NBA will probably lose a court battle.

He has the right to work on his side. The interstate commerce clause easily gives the government the right to step into a private organization that conducts commerce across states. He has precedent.


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I found the case . . .

The guy you are referring to is Spencer Haywood.

<blockquote> Blame the comedians who wrote the United States Constitution. Since 1971, when Spencer Haywood won a Supreme Court case against the NBA for excluding him from the draft until his college class graduated, the league has been prohibited from denying basketball players the opportunity to make a living.
</blockquote>
-- from <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:d42kCxxgkhk:www.newtimesla.com/issues/1998-06-18/columns3.html+first+high+school+NBA+supreme+court+case+1970s&hl=en">LA Times</a>


<a href="http://global.nba.com/history/haywood_bio.html">Here is more about him from NBA.com</a>

<a href="http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/history/SpencerHaywoodcase.htm">Here is a GREAT summary from sportslawnews.com</a>

His argument is actually a very interesting one -- I don't know if it would work today though. He argued that it went against the Sherman Antitrust Act, and it was a restraint on trade. I'm not sure if the Sherman Antitrust act would work today because the NBA is NOT the only professional basketball league in the US. As far as I know, even though the CBA is bankrupt, some teams still play. And with the new NBA Development League, there is another pro league around.

The court ruled in favor of Haywood, saying that his skills, etc. would deteriorate without playing against the top competition.

There is more to this case, and I'll post more about it later.

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"And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."

 

That's not what that phrase means. "Not eligible until your high school class has graduated" means you can't play until 4 years after you have entered high school, when students have typically graduated (barring them skipping a grade or being held back). The rule doesn't say "must be 18" because lots of high school students have summer birthdays and therefore graduate when they are still 17. Still its an age-based restriction, and the NBA would need to show a legitimate business reason for the otherwise abitrary exclusion of 16 and 17 year-olds (under that age and the league might be violating child-labor laws).

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I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip that I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

 

"Ralph Sampson made the biggest mistake in his life by not leaving his junior year so that he can be drafted by the Lakers."

Whatever.

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"norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

 

I wouldn't argue that this is an age-based thing either. It's not like they are saying he's not a certain age or anything. The NBA's case would be that LeBron's class had not graduated. He could be 25 for all that it matters, if his class has not graduated, he is not eligible.

It would be very similar to a business saying "you haven't graduated from college, therefore, you are not eligible for this position".

As far as the former court's precedent, I agree that this is the most important point. But I want to find out more about this before I can make a decision on it -- I'm looking for it right now, but still haven't found anything.

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I'm looking for a job, so hire me


"And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."

 

His mother, Gloria, fueled the talk earlier this month, saying that LeBron wanted to become the first prep junior to turn pro. She and her son since have backed off from that, as they did yesterday during an interview at their Emeryville hotel.

"We've already made our decision that he's going to finish high school," Gloria James said. "You can't get that back. The NBA will be there. They want him now; they'll want him after he's done with high school."


<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/31/SP83215.DTL">An NBA hopeful at 16 on display in Berkeley</a>

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"I personally wouldn't give up my college years for anything. It was the funnest time I have ever had. But with the money they are getting, you can't blame a kid for coming out."
—Jazz forward Scott Padgett, demonstrating the value of a college education

 

that is completely outrageous imagine a 17 year old in the nba

 

Yea, imagine that....

 

This is really a sick idea.

 

LeBron might find the Labor Laws in this country are slightly different when they are applied to a minor. I fully expect the NBA to win this one.