New Article on Bill Walker and Possible Legal Options for NBA Draft Eligibility

Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer has a new and interesting article on the possible legal options for Bill Walker, the high school phenom who has good reason to argue that he should be eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft ("Lawyer: Walker Has a Case", 7/11/2006). Yesterday we discussed Chad Ford's article on Walker's potential arguments, and those of O.J. Mayo.

I am the lawyer referenced in Groeschen's article title, and while I do believe that Walker would have a strong case (as I discuss in the article), I would like to add the following proviso: if Walker were to pursue eligibility for the 2007 NBA Draft, his best initial approach would not be litigation with the NBA, but rather a concerted and constructive effort to discuss the matter with the NBA, and hopefully persuade the league to reconsider its thinking; litigation here, as in every dispute, should only be used if all reasonable attempts at negotiation fail. Moreover, being a litigant can be stressful and emotionally-draining, and that's especially true in a highly-publicized trial.

But as we also know, sometimes all reasonable efforts at negotiation do not succeed, and litigation is the only and correct option to right a wrong. Should that occur in this instance, I believe that Walker would have an extremely strong case.

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