can't have it both ways

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A controversy is developing within the NBA Players Association just as it begins to negotiate with the league on a new labor contract that could be worth $10 billion.

 

Some players, including members of the union's executive committee, are questioning whether Toronto Raptors guard Michael Curry, president of the players' union, compromised himself by saying he wants to work for a team in a management position at the same time he opposes team owners, on the players' behalf, at the negotiating table.

Chicago Bulls forward Antonio Davis, the union's first vice president and highest-ranking officer behind Curry, said the union's leadership intends to learn whether the president's interest in obtaining a management job could interfere with his responsibility of striking a deal in the best interest of the players.

"Me being first vice president, players have asked me 'Are we sure that we are protected?' " Davis said during a phone interview last week. "Michael has been a good president. I don't think that anyone thinks he is going to use his position as union president to get a job. I also don't think he should have stated his intentions publicly. He's put himself in a bad situation."

Curry, 35, a reserve for the Raptors who was elected union president in July 2001, has repeatedly made comments in recent months that he will soon decide whether to continue his 10-year playing career or retire and work for an NBA team.

"I have to decide whether I'm a player or if I'm going into management," Curry said in an April 13 interview, adding that three of the teams he's played for -- Detroit, Milwaukee and Toronto -- have expressed interest in hiring him when he retires.

The problem for some union members is that while Curry contemplates whether to cross over to management, he is still privy to the union's negotiating strategy and is in a position to influence its stance on issues.

Curry denied that there is any conflict of interest because he is not yet a member of management. He also dismisses the notion that the league's owners would want to court his favor in the hope of swaying the negotiations.

"Every player has one vote," Curry said. "My vote means the same as anyone else's. Every player has the ability and the same right to come in and sit in at every meeting and ask questions."

But not every player is present at all the negotiations, has the power to direct union employees and can form policy like the players' union's president. The position has also traditionally been a bully pulpit that can be used to sway the rank-and-file.

Marvin Miller, former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said Curry's comments reflect a "clear conflict of interest."

Harvard business professor D. Quinn Mills said Curry "is clearly suggesting his loyalties are not entirely with the union."

Ed Garvey, former executive director of the NFL Players Association, said that "Curry has put himself into a situation where it looks like he could accept something from the owners" for his help in the labor discussions.

Marc Fleisher, an agent and the son of the NBA union's former executive director, Larry Fleisher, said: "How can the players not be concerned that you wouldn't try to ingratiate yourself with the owners? I think [because of] his statements, at such a sensitive time, that he should step down."

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Curry has attended all of the roughly half-dozen negotiating sessions between the owners and the union over the past year as they try to strike a new collective bargaining agreement. Among the issues are the possible ban of teenagers from the NBA draft and a reduction in the length of player contracts. He is expected to attend the next negotiating session, scheduled for May 11.

 

Billy Hunter, the union's executive director since 1996, declined to comment on whether the union leadership has had any discussions about Curry's comments, but said: "Michael Curry has made an extraordinary contribution in terms of the time and effort he's put in. Most players that work with Michael have great respect for the job he's done. That said, I can understand how some of the players would view some of his statements with concern. However, I'm confident Michael is prepared to address any questions."

Curry, a defensive specialist who has averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in his career, is one of the few journeyman players to become president of the players' union. In 2001, Curry was elected union president after New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing vacated the position when his term expired.

During the 1998 labor negotiations, which resulted in a work stoppage that erased half the season, Curry began to make a name for himself as the union representative for the Milwaukee Bucks with his keen understanding of the issues. He earned a reputation as a champion of middle-income players who were not big stars but made up the majority of the union. Curry supported the owners' proposal for luxury taxes and caps on individual player salaries, which the union eventually accepted.

"Are you going to make everyone happy? No," said Curry, who earned a master's degree in sports management from Virginia Commonwealth University. "There's not a possible deal out there to be struck that every single person is going to be happy with. We understand that. What we try and do is do a deal that will give everybody a chance to maximize their earnings. . . . I'm proud of the deal we struck."

Curry's aspirations are not uncommon. The career path that leads from the court to the front office is well traveled, including former players such as Isiah Thomas (New York Knicks), Larry Bird (Indiana Pacers) and Jerry West (Memphis Grizzlies), who are now operating their own teams. Thomas, the union's president from 1989 to 1994, said that he has "seen nothing to make me question whether Michael doesn't have the union's best interests at heart."

Numerous players commended the job that Curry has done as president, including Washington Wizards reserve guard Mitchell Butler, a former team representative.

"I have no doubts about whether Michael will do the right thing," Butler said. "I know that the second he decides to go into management, he will step down as president."