NBA Players Association's Annual Summer Meeting

By Chris Navalta

For some NBA players, the season doesn't end until they get together one last time for the annual NBA Players Association Summer Meetings.

For the sixth straight year, the annual union meetings were held at the Bahamas, where players were also able to bring their families and enjoy the sun and Bahamian hospitality.

Adonal Foyle, who is currently the First Vice President of the Players union, took in the weeklong events that featured sightseeing, shows, a boat cruise and beach party. But there was also plenty of work needed to be done.

"These meetings are always about trying to educate the general assembly about the current issues regarding either our current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or the future Collective Bargaining Agreement," Adonal said. "And the CBA is everything that governs our league - from the issue of dress code to the distribution of income to how to file for grievances."

The Players union has three years remaining on their current Collective Bargaining Agreement. And at the end of each season, the union comes together to discuss how the current CBA is working and what needs to be changed by it expires. Derek Fisher serves as the union president while Pat Garrity is the secretary and treasurer. While Adonal is the first vice president, there are six vice presidents who serve beneath him (P.J. Brown, Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Malik Rose, Eric Snow and Etan Thomas).

"My role as first vice president basically serves the same function on how our country works," Adonal said. "Because the business and interest of the union is so vast, there are a lot of committees and sub-committees that our members are a part of. And the role for the other vice presidents is to help head those committees. You need more than one vice president to go around and do all the things that need to be done to protect and help educate the players on the issues that affect them."

Each team in the NBA also has a player representative who attend the meetings and convey the information back to his teammates.

Among the topics of discussion during this year's meetings were how to expand marketing the league overseas, officiating and revenue sharing. It is also during these meetings that certain tweaks in the Collective Bargaining Agreement take place. In year's past, the issue of dress code and the use of a new synthetic basketball were among the topics of discussion, as well as the age limit to enter the NBA draft and hotel accommodations while a team is on a road trip.