David Stern, the Most Overrated Sports Commissioner
Originally published Nov. 6, 2011
It’s Day 128 of the NBA lockout and there’s still no resolution between owners and players. Instead, NBA Commissioner David Stern offered the players’ union what sounded like an angry ultimatum. He basically told them to accept a chance to earn up to 51 percent of basketball-related income by Wednesday or face a deal that would be much worse. Frustrated players responded by contemplating the possibility of decertifying the union and filing an antitrust case against the league.
What a mess.
No matter how the lockout is settled, this basketball fiasco has shown that Stern is the most overrated sports commissioner in America and that his legacy has deservedly been tainted.
The blame game surrounding this messy financial fight all seem to be directed towards either the billionaire owners or the millionaire players. But, why has Commissioner Stern, more or less, dodged most of the criticism? Isn’t he ultimately the most responsible for this debacle?
Recently, Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s “Real Sports” did, in fact, harshly criticize Stern for his mishandling of the lockout. (more…)
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