Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Review of "Don't Be Afraid to Win"

I LOVE to read about the business side of sports, including labor matters and legal issues that affect the games or the leagues.  This book is one that I believe is one of the best around on that topic.  It sticks ONLY to those topics, so if sports business is not your cup of tea, then skip this, but if it is a topic you like, then read on to get a review of "Don't Be Afraid to Win"



Title/Author:
“Don't Be Afraid to Win: How Free Agency Changed the Business of Pro Sports” by Jim Quinn

Tags:
Football (American), basketball, ice hockey, business, legal

Publish date:
November 5, 2019

Length:
376 pages

Rating: to
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:
Jim Quinn has made quite a name for himself in the world of sports when it comes to legal and labor issues.  He has worked on numerous cases involving either union matters or free agency issues against the NBA, NFL and NHL. He shares the stories of these cases and the importance they had in shaping free agency in each of those leagues in this book.

The book deals strictly with his work in each of these leagues and nothing else. It is not a memoir, it doesn't discuss the accomplishments of his more noteworthy clients such as Oscar Robertson and Freeman McNeil and it isn't simply stories inside the courtroom. Therefore, if a reader is expecting to find this type of information in this book, it won't be found.

However, if the reader IS interested in learning more about why these issues came about, the importance of free agency in shaping the business of professional sports as we know it today and some great inside information on the biggest cases involving free agency such as Robertson v NBA and Freeman v NFL, then get this book and read it cover to cover. 

The start of the book is probably the most interesting story of the whole book and it was not a case that Quinn worked on but instead was an impromptu strike called by Quinn's mentor, Larry Fleischer.  Fleischer became very well known as an agent for many NBA player as well as a sports litigator, but his first foray with NBA players and labor issues made for great reading.  Known as the "21 minute strike", Fleischer convinced players who were in the 1964 NBA All-Star game to not take the court unless the owners would agree to higher contributions to their pension plan.  Nervously, they agreed to do so, and it worked as the owners verbally agreed to do so and the players took the court.

From there the book discusses all of the various actions taken toward free agency in basketball, football and hockey.  The latter sport is mainly discussed because it was the one time owners "won" because the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season resulted in the players agreeing to the owners' demands.

In the other two sports, however, Quinn paints a picture of multi-millionaires using the same arguments in order to deny players free agency, namely competitive balance and the explosion of salaries.  It didn't matter what year or what sport, the book portrays the owners as unwilling to change while Quinn tells of his meetings with players and other lawyers in a very entertaining manner.  Of course, he also shares his secrets and strategies used in order to win cases and provide players with true free agency. 

As mentioned earlier, if this topic doesn't appeal to a reader, then that person should skip this book. But for readers who enjoy this topic as I do, it is one of the best ones available on labor and legal issues in professional sports and should be on their book shelves.

I wish to thank Radius Book Group for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.      
                                                    
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)

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