David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984, succeeding Larry O'Brien. He is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusiness Executive
Date of Birth22 September 1942
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
It`s not the NBA Finals, it's not even a regular-season game. It's the All-Star game, it's a celebration. A celebration of talent, speed, grace. Let`s put it on display and have some fun.
Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.
We're just changing the definition of the uniform that you wear when you are on NBA business,
We're not going to be crazy. We just want our players to dress up,
Those are decisions best left to elected officials, but there are choices that have to be made.
I grew up in an age where women's tennis did not have similar prizes to men, and they played in complete obscurity, really, compared to the men's game.
We couldn't get enough Jeremy Lin material in the NBA store fast enough. And when we did, it was just gone in minutes.
We need a system where all of our teams have the opportunity to compete and to make a few dollars. That's not a bad desire for collective bargaining for a sports league, and it's great for our fans.
I'm persuaded that sports is the one place where the rules are pretty well set out, where fans are equal. And if you got game or you're a good official, you make it here, whether you're white or you're black.
I'm aware that the World Cup is probably the greatest spectacle in the world of sport, and that's despite the referees that have been found to have fixed games specifically.
I actually don't hope for a legacy. I think that it impedes your ability to make the hard decisions if you sit around saying, 'How will this affect my legacy?'
All I can say is you don't know what's going to be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. So I take no joy in what happens to another sport, whether it's about a perfect game or an issue of conduct.
My own basketball background was ripping up my ACL in a lawyer's league.
I believe that everyone should participate in democracy and enjoy doing it.