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Page 12
Fortiani* (Observer
• I •
November 16. 2011
NBA Season Looks Doubtful
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 2
With All-Stars, role players, NBA
champions and a new legal team
crowding around them, union lead­
ers announced the significant
change in strategy, saying the col­
lective bargaining process had "com­
pletely broken down."
"This is where it stops for us as
a union," said Derek Fisher, presi­
dent of the group.
"We re prepared to file this anti­
trust action against the NBA," union
executive director Billy Hunter said.
"That's the best situation where
players can get their due process."
And that's a tragedy as far as
Commissioner David Stem is con­
cerned.
"It looks like the 2011-12 season
is really in jeopardy," Stern said in
an interview aired on ESPN. "It's
just a big charade. To do it now, the
union is ratcheting up I guess to see
if they can scare the NBA owners or
something. That's not happening."
Hunter said players were not
prepared to agree to Stem's ulti­
matum to accept the current pro­
posal or face a worse one, saying
they thought it was “extremely
unfair.”
"We understand the conse­
quences of potentially missing the
season; we understand the con­
sequences that players could po­
tentially face if things don't go our
way, but it's a risk worth taking,"
union vice president Maurice
Evans said. "It's the right move to
do."
T w o years o f barg ain in g
couldn't produce a deal, with own­
ers' desires for more competitive
balance clashing with players'
wishes to keep the salary cap sys­
tem largely intact. The sides last
met Thursday, when the league
offered a revised proposal but told
the players there would be no
further negotiating on it.
Occupy Protesters Regroup
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Occupy Portland protesters chain themselves together Inside a tent at Lownsdale Square where they
have been living as a way to protest corporate greed and stand up for their First Amendment rights.
Several people refused to leave the park by midnight on Sunday and were arrested.
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tion,” he said. “And that didn't
happen. We are very grateful for
that.”
Protestors agreed. Shortly before
5 a.m. on Sunday, an Occupy activist
and leader climbed a tree and asked,
"What is one more hour when we are
seeking change indefinitely?”
Addressing the officers in full
riot gear, she said, “Remember we
are unarmed. We are the 99 percent.
We are fighting for our families, our
children and yours.”
“We are peaceful,” she said. “We
hope you keep that in mind.”
Hundreds of police officers, which
cost the city thousands of dollars in
overtime for their services through­
out the weekend, displayed a power­
ful show of force with night-sticks
and tear gas, which was never used.
Although there are several opin-
ions surrounding whether or not the
parks are an appropriate place to
occupy, there is a common consen­
sus that the movement can’t be
evicted as long as there are demands
for economic reforms.
Before Saturday’s evacuation
deadline, Jude Boatman, who has
been down at Chapman Park since
the beginning of the occupation,
was ready to move on. She loaded a
U-Haul with several objects, includ­
ing tables, chairs, and tapestries.
The furniture had been used for the
information booth, and to make the
park a more functional home.
“I have been camping here since
the first day,” she said. Boatman
and her husband were homeless
before the occupation began, and
now, she said they would return to
sleeping in her car.
Although she wondered what
actions the police were going to
take, she said she felt optimistic.
“I don't really mind losing the
physicality of the place because
this is going to keep going,” she
said. “What we wanted to happen
was to get people out in the open
and connect with each other, and
we totally have, and we will con­
tinue to do so.”
Other individuals within the move­
ment agreed. “It makes a political
statement when you take what is
yours back,” said Jenny Pepper,
who has been living in a tent down­
town for the past month.
Although she said she hoped
people would show up to lock arms
so individuals didn’t get evicted,
she had been working all morning to
pack up her belongings and move
them to a safe and dry spot. “But we
are going to be physically here,”
she said. “Public or private, there
will be a new spot.”
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