D-Day

According to Boti Nagy of the Adelaide Advertiser it is "D-Day" for professional basketball in this country as we know it.

As I have lifted my self imposed media ban, I tend to agree with Nagy and will expand on this soon.

It is time to make a decision people as we (players) need to know what is going on so life can move on.


ELITE level basketball in Australia is not dead yet but today is most definitely D-Day for the future with three clubs determining their commitment this morning.

Rarely if ever has Basketball Australia's stance in adopting reforms which divest private ownership of the major decision-making been more clearly vindicated than the events of the past three days.

Friday's stunning decision by management of reigning NBL champion South Dragons to go against the strong public stand of club chairman Mark Cowan and instead withdraw from a planned new league sent shockwaves across the sport.

Then on Saturday, former Melbourne Tigers director and minority shareholder Seamus McPeake announced his club also would withdraw leaving existing clubs and potential investors reconsidering their positions.

But McPeake, who quit a BA Board position and last week also quit the Tigers after teaming with Cowan to represent the owners to BA, is not empowered to speak on Melbourne's behalf.

The club's shareholders and board is holding a meeting today to determine whether they do, in fact, continue as they previously had indicated before McPeake's very public outburst.

In Townsville, the Crocodiles' board has scheduled a meeting after the Tigers' to consider its position, contingent on what comes out of Melbourne's meeting.

In Adelaide, a consortium hoping to take over the 36ers from owner-in-absentia Mal Hemmerling - currently on holidays - also will meet this morning to consider its position.
If the Tigers do not follow McPeake's recommendation, BA will have the eight teams it requires to launch a new competition.

But if they do withdraw, BA will re-think what shape its elite men's competition can take.
"There have been a lot of machinations within the Tigers' board," BA chief executive Larry Sengstock said.

"Seamus is a shareholder but resigned as a director last week and can't speak on behalf of the club. We have no confirmation and they have a meeting in the morning.

"Until they notify us formally, one way or the other, we can't make a call on it."

Sengstock said there was a place for private ownership in basketball but the latest crises also showed its pitfalls.

"Some of our owners have done everything they can and have the best interests of the players and game at heart," he said. "How private ownership is structured, that's what this is all about."

The Dragons' decision to quit the competition was revealed by co-owner Raphael Geminder and flew in the face of Cowan's confidence in the new comp and advocacy it had to go forward.

Geminder attacked the reforms process and BA administration, Sengstock having been in the post two weeks.

The attack also comes just days after BA chairman David Thodey was appointed chief executive officer of Telstra.

Article was courtesy of the Adelaide Advertiser.

I will get back to you later today when I find out more from what has transpired from all these meetings happening across the country.

In the meantime, I'm on the job hunt.