nba draft eligibility paper

7/30/2019 NBA Draft Eligibility Paper

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NBA DRAFT ELIGIBILITY RULES: IT’S ILLEGAL

Martin Dunham

SPM 1010

May 8, 2013



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I. Opening Statement:

The United States of America is a country that has prided and established itself on providing

fair opportunities at the highest levels. The National Basketball Association (NBA), the pre-

eminent professional basketball league in the country, has grossly violated the rights of young

prospective basketball players. Through applying anti-trust and labor laws, we can demonstrate

that the NBA’s draft eligibility rules are illegal. Looking at the educational and financial aspects

as well we can show how the eligibility rules are morally wrong. By removing the NBA age

restrictions, we can change its anti-ethical image towards prospective player employment.

II. Facts:

When the NBA was first created (originally called the Basketball Association of America),

draft rules stated you had to be four years removed from high school in order to be eligible to

enter the draft. Players are drafted by teams in reverse order based on record. No team may

negotiate with a player drafted by another organization (Haywood v. National Basketball Assn.).

In 1971, a landmark case dealing with NBA draft eligibility was decided.

Former Olympic basketball star Spencer Haywood signed with the American Basketball

Association (professional basketball league) after his sophomore season in college. In 1970, he

wanted to play in the NBA. A contract was agreed to with the Seattle SuperSonics, despite being

only three years removed from high school. The NBA attempted to void the deal and threatened

to sanction Seattle. Haywood then filed an anti-trust suit with the NBA, alleging that the NBA’s

conduct violated the Sherman Act. He was granted an injunction and allowed to play with no

consequence to him or the franchise. District Court ruled that Haywood would suffer irreparable

injury because part of his playing career will have gone by, his physical skills would deteriorate,

and his image would suffer (Haywood v. National Basketball Assn.). The Court of Appeals



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stayed the injunction and then Haywood went to Supreme Court. They upheld the decision made

by District Court (Haywood v. National Basketball Assn.).

As a result of this decision, the NBA made the “hardship case”, where a player could enter

the draft out of high school if they could prove financial hardship. In 2005, a new Collective

Bargaining Agreement was negotiated. After being outspoken for many years on the matter,

David Stern finally got his way. The Union reluctantly agreed to Stern’s demands of an age limit

for the NBA Draft. The age limit was set at 19 years of age, and the player must be, at minimum,

one year removed from high school. The 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement kept the

requirements. These are the undisputed facts of the case.

III. Argument:

The most recent case in regards to draft eligibility was Maurice Clarett v. National Football

League, decided in 2004. Clarett challenge the NFL rule that stated that a prospective player

must be three years removed from high school in order to become eligible for the NFL Draft

(Brooks). The District Court ruled in Clarett’s favor, using a three-part test aimed at testing the

legality non-statutory labor exemptions. Called the Mackey Test, this is the main factor in our

argument (Brooks). After the Mackey Test failed in the Clarett case, the Court used right reason

to determine that the three year rule was an unreasonable restraint of trade (Brooks).

The Mackey Test is a three prong test used to determine whether a regulation is protected

under the non-statutory labor exemption. In order for the rule to be valid, it has to pass all three

prongs of the test; even if one is broken then it is not protected under non-statutory labor

exemption. The three parts are (Brooks):

1. Restraint of trade affects only the parties in CBA

2. Topic is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining



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3. Result is result of arms length bargaining

By these guidelines, I believe the first two rules are broken.

The first point deals with parties in the CBA. There is (and should be) a distinctive

difference between agreements affecting current and prospective employees. Despite the CBA

being negotiated by the age-limit rule affects only prospective employees. While it is believed

there is an expectation of these prospective players to abide by the agreements made by the

current players, the perspective players cannot be bound to agreement made when they are not

even allowed employment by the league.

The second point is about the rule being a mandatory subject of bargaining, and I believe

that this age limit was not a mandatory subject in the recent negations. In union-employer

negotiations, some mandatory subjects include wages, hours worked, and conditions of

employment. In addition, the Commissioner himself is quoted in an interview as saying that this

age-limit rule was a topic to be discussed in a later date, that they kept it the same just to get an

agreement done.

“Because saving an already shortened season was more important than reaching an

agreement on the age limit, the issue was tabled during the collective bargaining

talks."It was sufficiently contentious around that that we agreed to do what all good

negotiators do. We referred it to a subcommittee, and we're going to have meetings

about it and see how that works out," Stern said (Zillgitt).”

Saying that a committee will be formed to look into the matter at a later date doesn’t

show me that this is a mandatory subject of bargaining.

Now that the Mackey Test is broken, we can use right reason to show that this rule is a

restraint of trade. Just by looking at basic labor law, we see that the NBA’s age-limit rule



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violates labor law. States prohibit discrimination of any kind for employment, like age, race, and

religious beliefs. New York is a state with these laws in place, and since the NBA office is

headquartered in New York, the NBA is required to follow state law (Craggs). The NBA is

blatantly violating this rule, and as such, this age-limit rule is illegal and a restraint of trade.

Some critics for the rule say that it is good because we are making kids go to school for

one year. How helpful is one year of school? Some of these kids know straight away that they

are leaving after one year, so what is their motivation for going to class? Yes, they may be

making money for the university (although it is the team more than the individual). The money

used on educational resources (scholarship money, money for tutors, etc.) could be used on

somebody more deserving or needing than a player like John Wall. Also, the colleges and the

NCAA are allowed to exploit the player’s likeness for a year. They get to make money off TV,

advertisements, clothing just to name a few things. This is morally wrong to hold back a player

for one year an opportunity he may want to take.

Even if a player was to go college for a year, he may not qualify out of high school.

Recently the NCAA approved to raise the minimum eligibility standards for an athletic

scholarship. The standards agreed to:

16 core courses (10 must be completed by beginning of senior year). 7 of 10 must

be in English, math, or science

2.3 minimum GPA in the 16 core courses

2.5 minimum GPA for junior college transfer

According to NCAA statistics, 43.1 percent of men’s basketball players who enrolled in

2009-10 would not meet the 2016 academic standards. We need to understand that while we as a

society place a value on education, some people are not meant for school. If someone wants to



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try to have a career in basketball at 18 years of age, then they should have the opportunity to do

so. Telling kids that they have to wait to try and achieve their dream is morally wrong.

Finally, there is the financial aspect. As mentioned before, that one year the player could be

spending in the NBA is lost income. David Stern has said that players can play in the D-League

or Europe, but that is just insulting. European league salaries are about $65,000-$100,000

(Heitner). According to a tweet by Jonathan Givony, the average D-League salary ranges

between $15,500-$25,600 (pre-tax), non-guaranteed, with housing (“D-League”). For some

players looking for financial security or help better their family’s life neither is comparable to

$473,604 minimum salary for a player with 0 years experience in the NBA (“2011 CBA”).

IV. Conclusion

The NBA currently holds an anti-ethical and illegal stance towards player employment.

Some will say its legal, some will say it is morally right, some will say it helps the kids. For

every Kwame Brown, DeSanga Diop, and Sebastian Telfair that the critics will name as busts I

can bring out Kevin Pittsnogle, Greg Oden, and Adam Morrison as college stars who didn’t pan

out as NBA stars. And there are those like Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard as

hard-working success stories. There is absolutely no reason that can make this eligibility rule at

all justifiable.



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Works Cited

"2011 CBA Minimum Annual Salary Scale." RealGM Basketball Wiretap RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01

May 2013.

"Basketball in America." HoopsHype - Articles - Basketball in America. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May

2013.

Brooks, Nathan. Clarett v. National Football League and the Nonstatutory Labor Exemption in

Antitrust Suits. N.p.: Cornell University ILR School, 22 June 2004. PDF.

Craggs, Tommy. "Another Reason To Scrap The NBA's Age Rule: It's Probably Illegal." Deadspin.

N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013.

"D-league Salaries This Year." ClutchFans RSS. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 May 2013.

"Haywood v. National Basketball Assn. - 401 U.S. 1204 (1971)." Justia US Supreme Court Center .

N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013.

Heitner, Darren, and Benjamin Haynes, Esq. "NBA D-League vs. European Basketball: Why Don't

More Players Go to Europe?" Sports Agent Blog. N.p., 30 July 2012. Web. 01 May 2013.

O'Neil, Dana. "Eligibility vs. Academic preparedness." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 6 Aug.

2012. Web. 01 May 2013.

Zillgitt, Jeff. "NBA Sees Draft Age Limit Good for Business." USATODAY.COM. N.p., n.d. Web. 01

May 2013.

nba draft eligibility paper

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