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)
Buying Links:
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