[翻譯] Double Dribble: The Conflict of Intere
Double Dribble: The Conflict of Interest Concern With Agents Representing
Players and Coaches
http://goo.gl/4g2h1U
By Zach Lowe @ Grantland
(譯按:看到就隨手翻了,法律相關字詞翻譯苦手,英文比較好懂…有請專業人士相助)
The National Basketball Players Association is considering a crackdown on the
practice of agents representing both coaches and players, and it may come to
a resolution on the issue when its executive committee meets later this month
in Las Vegas, according to several sources.
球員工會(NBPA)正在考慮打擊經紀人同時代理球員和教練的狀況,根據幾個消息來源,
這個月底在賭城的執行委員會就會對這件事做出決議。
The rule, as written expressly in the NBPA regulations, prevents player
agents from “representing the General Manager or coach of any NBA team … in
matters pertaining to his employment or any other matters in which he has a
financial stake by or association with any NBA team.” The rule contains
broader language that prohibits the representation of assistant coaches and
front-office officials below the GM level.
這條規定在球員工會的規章上寫得清清楚楚,不允許球員的經紀人「同時擔任任何NBA 球
隊的GM或教練的經紀人…讓他的財務狀況和雇傭關係和任何NBA 球隊有所牽連」。這條
規定的也禁止他們擔任助理教練或其他制服組人員的經紀人。
These restrictions have long been dormant, though, and agents who say the
union’s hands-off policy hurts their business approached Michele Roberts,
the union’s executive director, about a potential change from almost the
moment Roberts accepted the position last July. “I had been in the job for
about 15 minutes,” Roberts says, “and a number of agents complained the
rule was going unenforced — and that it was openly violated.”
這個規定很久以來都形同虛設,但當球員工會執行長Michele Roberts去年七月剛上任時
,認為這個條款傷害到他們利益的經紀人們就為了此事找過她。「我才剛上任大概十五分
鐘,好幾個經紀人就來抱怨這個規定—但其實大家都已經明目張膽的違反它。」
The loudest agitators for stricter enforcement are agents who represent only
coaches and executives, and smaller agencies that claim that bigger fish
leverage their connections with coaches and GMs to lure players. “There
could be problems with some agents using the fact that they represent a coach
as a hiring tool,” Roberts says.
最大聲要求強力執行這項規定的,是只旗下只有教練和制服組人員的經紀人們,以及那些
聲稱大經紀人利用他們和教練及GM的關係來誘惑球員的小經紀公司們。「有些經紀人用
他們同時也是教練經紀人的事實為餌簽球員,這會是個問題。」
There are a few agents who openly take lead roles representing both players
and management, but most larger agencies create separate practices operating
under the same roof — the so-called “Chinese wall” solution. As just one
prominent example, Jeff Schwartz, the founder of Excel Sports Management,
represented Jason Kidd during Kidd’s playing career. When Kidd became a head
coach, Schwartz passed the job off to another agent within Excel: Hal Biagas,
a former lawyer for the players’ association.
有些經紀人公開的同時擔任球員和管理階層的經紀人,但大部分較大的經紀公司則在同個
框架下進行內部切割—所謂的 Chinese wall 解套法。一個顯著的例子:Jeff Schwartz
,Excel Sports Management經紀公司的創始人,在 Jason Kidd 的球員時代擔任他的經
紀人。當 Kidd 變成總教練後,Schwartz 就把這工作交給了同經紀公司下的另一個經紀
人:Hal Biagas,前球員工會的律師。
The union has long held that such an in-house barrier satisfies the rule.
Agencies that represent both client types argue that it would be unfair to
force players to ditch advisers with whom they have grown close during their
playing careers — even when those players move into management jobs. Roberts
is familiar with the “Chinese wall” structure from her days at a mega-law
firm, and most league sources believe the union will ultimately settle upon
keeping the status quo.
球員工會一直以來認為這種內部切割符合規定。旗下同時有兩種客戶的經紀人則反駁說,
要強迫球員們放棄他們長久以來熟識的經紀人是不公平的—就算他們進到管理階層也一樣
。由於在大型律師事務所待過,Robert 對於 Chinese wall 這套很熟悉,而大部分的聯
盟消息源都相信,球員工會最終會選擇保持現狀。
That will irk opponents who claim the current enforcement policy creates
obvious conflicts of interest. Rosters in both Brooklyn and Milwaukee under
Kidd have been heavily populated with Excel clients, including Rashad Vaughn,
the Bucks’ first-round pick last month. Milwaukee ended up choosing between
Vaughn and Bobby Portis (a client of Mark Bartelstein), according to several
league sources, and the team’s selection of Vaughn drew some predictable eye
rolls around the league.
這會激怒聲稱現在的執行狀況有明顯利益迴避問題的反對者們。Kidd 時期的籃網和公鹿
陣容裡都有一大票 Excel 經紀公司的球員,包括 Rashad Vaughn,公鹿上個月剛選的首
輪新秀。根據幾個聯盟消息源,公鹿最後是在 Vaugh 和 Bobby Portis(Mark
Bartelstein 旗下的球員)二選一,而公鹿最終的選擇讓不少早有預期的聯盟人士翻了白
眼。
Sources insist Milwaukee had been tracking Vaughn closely for more than a
year, and that any draft-day debate between Portis and Vaughn was typical
back-and-forth that happens in every war room. Milwaukee re-signed Khris
Middleton, another Excel client, to a fat five-year, $70 million deal — less
than Middleton’s max, but not the kind of blatantly under-market contract
critics of the current policy expected. Middleton told me in April he had no
issue with Excel’s reach within the Bucks, and other powerful agents have
similar relationships with teams. Arn Tellem had close ties with several
teams, and CAA famously represented just about every relevant member of the
Knicks — both players and management — before Phil Jackson took over.
Conspiracy theorists might overstate the importance of these relationships,
but it’s naive to think they play zero role in some roster decisions.
蕭先生堅持公鹿已經追蹤 Vaughn 超過了一年,而 Portis 或 Vaughn 的爭論是每個選秀
戰情室內正常的討論。公鹿用五年七千萬美金續約了另一個 Excel 旗下的球員 Khris
Middleton—低於 Middleton 可拿的頂薪,但也不是甚麼友情價。四月的時候,
Middleton 跟我說他對 Excel 經紀公司在公鹿球團內的影響力沒有意見,而其他的強力
經紀人和其他球隊也有類似的交情。Arn Tellem 和幾支球隊有深厚的交情;在禪師主政
之前,幾乎尼克全隊—從球員到管理階層—都是 CAA 的客戶。陰謀論者可能會太高估這
些「交情」的重要性,但若認為這對球員陣容選擇沒有影響,那也是太傻太天真。
No team makes crucial team-building choices solely because of agency ties,
and players who move into management justifiably want to stick with agents
they trust. Friendships between agents and owners can drive player movement,
but there is no rule preventing Mark Cuban and Dan Fegan, the agent for both
DeAndre Jordan and Chandler Parsons, from developing a mutually beneficial
relationship.
沒有球隊會只因為和經紀人的關係就做出打造球隊的重要決定,而那些往管理階層發展的
球員想要和他們信任的經紀人保持合作也是很合理的。經紀人和球團老闆的友情會帶來球
員的流動,但沒有任何規定可以禁止 Mark Cuban 和 Dan Fegan,Chandler Parsons 和
DeAndre Jordan 的經紀人,發展出互利的交情。
There are only two realistic solutions beyond sticking with the current
setup, Roberts and others say:
Roberts 和其他人認為,除了保持現狀外,只有兩個實際的解決方式:
1. Scrap the rule entirely. Unions in other leagues, including the NFL, have
no conflict-of-interest policy for agents. Just stick everything out in the
open, so agencies don’t strain to keep up appearances.
1.完全放棄這條規定。其他聯盟的球員工會,包括 NFL,都沒有要求經紀人利益迴避的條
款。讓一切公開,經紀公司也不用花力氣保持表面上的假象。
2. Ban the “Chinese wall” arrangement altogether, and force even the
largest agencies to choose between repping players and management. That would
be a seismic change, and one that seems unlikely.
2.完全禁止 Chinese wall 的作法,尤有甚者,強迫大經紀公司選擇只能服務球員或管理
階層其中之一。這可是大改變,而且看起來不可能成真。
“Whatever we do is gonna piss someone off,” Roberts says. “I respect the
agents, and I don’t want to antagonize them unnecessarily. But I don’t work
for them. I work for the players.”
「不管我們怎麼做,都會讓一部分的人不爽,」Roberts 說,「我尊重經紀人們,非必要
我也不想和他們敵對。但我並不是為了他們工作,我是為了球員們。」
Adds Roberts: “My only position for now, is that whatever rule we end up
with, we are actually going to enforce it.”
「我現在唯一的態度是,不管我們最後用了哪種規則,我們會真的認真執行它。」
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