"The Big O"
June 16, 2009
Kobe Bryant just led the Lakers to the 2009 NBA Championship. Oscar Robertson, known as "The Big O", was a player of the same caliber as Kobe, and he also played an important role in a landmark case that greatly advanced players' rights. Oscar Robertson filed a class-action suit against the NBA on April 16, 1970. He was president of the NBA Players Association as well as the player rep for the Cincinnati Royals, and the 13 other player reps then in the NBA were co-plaintiffs. The complaint alleged anti-trust violations in the owners' attempt to merge the NBA and ABA. The NBA settled on 4/29/76, marking a sea change in owner-player relations. See link to the settlement document:
This settlement, a.k.a. the Oscar Robertson Rule, ended the reserve clause in the NBA. Compare the role of Curt Flood in ending the reserve clause in baseball- see sportslawtalk.com’s blogs on April 6-10, 2009.
Over the next two days we will look at some of the similarities and differences in the players' struggles with the both the NBA and Major League Baseball.
Ongoing story: Alabama makes its response to NCAA sanction. See link:
http://www.myfoxal.com/dpp/sports/local/20090611Alabama_responds_to_NCAA_pena
Categories: The Oscar Robertson Rule, NBA option clause, NBA reserve clause
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