More on NBA Player Arrests and Age/Education

Some persons have e-mailed me claiming that my study on NBA player arrests and age/education is irrelevant to the NBA's efforts to raise the Draft entry age. They claim that it's really about player performance--that prep-to-pro players have struggled in the NBA.

If you are one of those persons, let me just respond this way: You're wrong. The NBA has carefully avoided discussion of player performance because prep-to-pro players in the NBA average more points, grab more rebounds, and dish out more assists than the average NBA player or the average player of any age group. NBA officials do not want to look foolish in a likely trial next year by having dead-wrong remarks on the public record. We have discussed this point extensively on this blog, so let me just refer to past posts (High School Players Average More Points, Rebounds, and Assists; Legal Issues of NBA Draft Age Floor; Red Herring of Age in NBA Draft) as well as my law review article on this topic.

In striking contrast, David Stern has repeatedly rationalized a higher age floor on the grounds that players need more "life experience" and "education" to avoid off-court problems (be them criminal or otherwise) as an NBA player. To prove that, let's turn to his actual remarks:

"[Stern says] players need to have 'more life experience to better enable them to adjust.'" From: Rocky Mountain News (Feb. 18, 2005)

"[Stern] said an age limit would 'allow kids another reason to have another year or two to grow, to deal with the stress, the discipline and really, the life experience that would be helpful. I'd like to think that somebody would react better at 20 than 19.'" Washington Post (May 10, 2005)

"'Because even if they might not get the same intense training from a basketball perspective … they will get a year of experience, a year of life experience, a year of education,' said Stern." Roanoke Times (July 6, 2005)

Perhaps more revealing is this exchange between Armen Keteyian of HBO and Billy Hunter in the same interview that I was a part of:

ARMEN KETEYIAN: Billy Hunter is the head of the NBA player’s union and in the process of negotiating a new labor agreement with the league. He’s also on the verge of giving David Stern what he wants—a restriction on high schoolers going directly to the pros.

BILLY HUNTER: I'm personally and philosophically against it. But we're trying to I guess achieve a global deal, and that there are many elements to this-- to this package. And that that in and of itself probably would not hold up an agreement.

ARMEN KETEYIAN: Hunter insists that until a deal is done nothing is final, but it’s clear that the momentum for now is on the side of the commissioner.

BILLY HUNTER: I think that he and the owners feel that they have to, quote, "give the fans something." There are these ancillary issues that fans get distracted by. Let's say for example if you identify the--the brawl that occurred between Indiana and Detroit. And so the idea is, what can you give the fans to assuage them? To convince them that, quote, "you're in control of the game," and that it hasn't gotten out of hand? And so--

ARMEN KETEYIAN: The proverbial pound of flesh?

BILLY HUNTER: Yes. That's right. So in this instance I think it's an age limit.

ARMEN KETEYIAN: You think that's really directly related to what happened in Detroit?

BILLY HUNTER: Detroit is just one aspect of it. Some individuals have difficulty with the fact that so many young players have tattoos or have-- cornrows or they’re saying that they’re a bunch of-- of-- spoiled millionaires. The problem with may not be with 18 year olds, but if we can make that the resolution, than so be it.

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