Presidential Conference Room, 19th Floor, Olympic Tower, Manhattan, New York.
The blinds were drawn tightly shut, cutting the harsh afternoon autumn sun into dull shadows. On the wide, long conference table, ashtrays were piled high with stubbed-out cigar butts, empty paper coffee cups were scattered about, along with a rumpled copy of the labor agreement and fax paper covered with correction marks.
The closed-door consultations had been going on from 10 a. m. until nearly 3 p. m.
On either side of the long table, the legal team and the legal counsel of the coalition's labor-management committee were arguing fiercely.
"If the league forces a halt to Converse's contract with Kobe, Lin Qi will definitely sue the league!"
A senior legal consultant slammed his pen on the table, his eyes red-rimmed. " Lin Qi's legal team consists of the most ruthless business lawyers on the East Coast. If we dare to intervene forcefully, they can immediately sue the Alliance for malicious infringement of its business rights. Once a protracted legal battle ensues in public court, it won't be good for the Alliance's brand image!"
Chief Operating Officer Russ Granik loosened his tie, his voice hoarse. "But if the league office doesn't come up with concrete measures, Jerry Reinsdorf and Mark Cuban will not let this go! Reinsdorf just called for the fifth time, and he made it clear that if the league turns a deaf ear, the Chicago Bulls, along with the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers, will launch a no-confidence motion against management at next month's board meeting! Cuban even threatened to contact seven or eight small-market owners and publicly accuse the league management of favoring the big teams on television!"
The two groups each held their own version of events, and the atmosphere in the meeting room was tense.
David Stern, seated at the head of the long table, remained silent. His tea had long since gone cold, and he slumped into his high-backed leather chair, his face grim.
David Stern found himself in an unprecedented dilemma.
Reinsdorf slammed his fist on the table and yelled on the phone, even threatening to split the board.
The Los Angeles Lakers were embroiled in controversy after Jerry Buss made an illegal promise to Michael Jordan about team ownership, and Lin Qi had to sacrifice himself to clean up the mess.
More importantly, it was Lin Qi's mediation that allowed the Eagle County lawsuit in Colorado to be postponed indefinitely. Lin Qi resolved Kobe's off-court crisis, which not only stabilized the Chicago Bulls' home game ticket sales but also benefited the league's national broadcast viewership for the new season.
Furthermore, the Boston Celtics are currently leading the league's global strategy by touring Europe for preseason games, Boston Celtics all overseas rights and promotions falling on their shoulders.
If Lin Qi is pushed too far at this juncture, Lin Qi will not only resort to legal action and embarrass the league, but if he continues to exploit the dispute between the Lakers and Jordan, the entire Olympic Tower will be overwhelmed by public opinion.
However, if Reinsdorf and Cuban join forces to launch an attack, Stern's authority as president will also be completely undermined.
"Enough!"
At 3:15 p. m., David Stern slammed his hand on the mahogany table.
The teacup lid rattled with a piercing crack. The escalating argument abruptly ceased, and everyone held their breath, turning to look at the person in the main seat.
Stern slowly stood up, his cold gaze sweeping over the people at the table.
"Reinsdorf was shouting like a madman on the phone, but what could he do besides cower in Eagle County back in July? When broadcasters across the country were clamoring to cancel their contracts, who was protecting his Chicago box office? Now that things have calmed down, he's jumping out to play the moral guardian!"
Stern strode to the whiteboard and grabbed a pen.
"Listen, the league can't go to court with Lin Qi, and we absolutely cannot let Reinsdorf run rampant at the board meeting. What team owners want is a visible firewall. What we need to do is issue a patch statement, characterizing this as 'filling a regulatory blind spot in the industry,' and shut everyone up."
The pen nib scraped across the whiteboard with a harsh screech as Stern wrote three frames.
"First, the principle of prior exemption. Contracts signed and registered before the new regulations were issued are protected by the principle of non-retroactivity. This clause completely exempts Converse from the risk of legal action, thus appeasing Lin Qi."
"Second, precisely target cross-team infiltration. Strictly limit the scope of restrictions to any non-listed commercial brand directly controlled by the team's investor. During the period when the player holds a valid labor contract with another team, it is strictly prohibited to sign contracts with other teams with excessive guarantees, equity dividends, or lifetime agreements that exceed the fair market range, in order to prevent off-field personal dependence from forming during the player's contract period."
"Third, the team will implement independent auditing and operational separation for player endorsements. Brands under the investor's name that sign their own players must undergo fair market value verification by a third-party agency, and the brand's commercial operations must establish strict personnel and decision-making firewalls with the team's management."
After writing the last word, Stern tossed the whiteboard marker into the slot, rested his hands on the table, and coldly stared at the legal team present.
"The existing exemption will protect Lin Qi's existing assets, and the cross-team ban during his contract will shut Reinsdorf and Cuban up. Get me the official text stamped and finalized by 5 PM, and I'll send it directly to the boards of all teams!"
That evening, in the study of Lin Qi's mansion in Boston.
The autumn rain poured down outside the window, making a dull sound as it hit the glass.
The fax machine in the corner of the desk emitted a rhythmic hum, its gears turning as it ejected a thick stack of papers, still carrying the faint scent of warm ink.
Lin Qi sat alone in the large leather chair, holding a glass of warm water, calmly watching the last piece of paper slide into the tray.
He got up, walked over, and picked up the official document that had just been urgently issued by the New York League headquarters. "Special Regulatory Rules Regarding Commercial Endorsement Agreements Signed Between Team Investors and Related Business Entities and Active Players."
Back at his desk, Lin Qi perused the document known in the industry as the " Lin Qi Clause."
Skipping over the preceding high-sounding platitudes, his gaze landed precisely on the second statement regarding the cross-team ban.
[... any investor who directly or indirectly holds an NBA franchise and its wholly-owned commercial entities are strictly prohibited from offering any current player an exclusive commercial contract containing stock options, profit sharing, lifetime guarantees, or exceeding fair market limits during the effective term of any current player's standard NBA player contract with their team...]
Lin Qi lightly traced the words "effective period of existence" with his fingertips, leaned back in his chair, and revealed a knowing expression.
David Stern and the Alliance's legal team argued behind closed doors for hours, but were eventually forced to reveal a weakness by Reinsdorf and Cuban.
In order to uphold the principle of freedom of contract and avoid being accused of restricting players' commercial interests and thus facing lawsuits, New York legal experts carefully crafted their arguments, limiting the scope of the restriction to "the period during which the player's contract is valid."
They thought this would create a barrier against off-court infiltration by the owners while the players were fulfilling their NBA contracts.
In Lin Qi's view, this seemingly watertight statement left two wide doors in terms of practical application.
Firstly, the younger generation who have not yet joined the league.
NCAA rising stars from top universities across the United States, super high school prodigies at McDonald's's All-American All-Star Game, and prodigies from the youth training camps of major Europe clubs... Before they stepped onto the draft red carpet and had their names called by the commissioner, they didn't have any NBA team contracts.
Secondly, and perhaps most unexpectedly, is the situation of free agents – a blind spot that no team owner could have foreseen.
When a superstar's original contract expires on June 30th, during the window before he officially signs his next NBA contract when free agency begins in July, he is legally in a state of "no contract".
During that brief period, he belonged neither to his original team nor to any new club.
Converse could easily have offered a lucrative shoe endorsement deal during the free agent window when a superstar opted out of their contract. By the time the player signed a new NBA team contract, the endorsement would already be a legally binding business transaction, perfectly triggering the "previous exemption" clause in the contract.
In an attempt to quell the unrest, the New York erected a fence, but ended up leaving huge gaps at both ends.
Lin Qi closed the file, grabbed the internal phone on the table, and dialed directly to Converse Vice President Gregg Stone.
" Gregg, in the name of Converse headquarters, immediately launch a public recruitment drive within the industry."
Lin Qi's voice was calm, and his instructions were crisp and decisive. "Establish a completely independent 'Global Youth Basketball Talent Evaluation Committee.' All analysts and scouts must be independent of the Celtics ' management, creating a firewall for personnel and decision-making."
Gregg, on the other end of the phone, paused for a moment, then immediately understood. "Understood, Mr. Lin!"
"From now on, Converse's signing list will be evaluated independently by this independent committee. The process must be impeccable, so as not to give the alliance any reason to criticize us," Lin Qi instructed.
"Yes!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qi casually tossed the new regulations into a drawer.