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Hey Shock fans!
Welcome to the latest installment of "10 Questions With . . . " - a new feature at DetroitShock.com celebrating 10 years of WNBA basketball in the Motor City.
Today's interviewee is Bruce Levy. You probably don't know who Bruce is, but that's okay. That's basically the purpose of the "10 Questions With . . ." series - to introduce you to people who work behind the scenes in and around the WNBA and give you a different perspective on the game and the industry.
So please welcome to DetroitShock.com, Mr. Bruce Levy.
 Bruce Levy |
I�m Bruce Levy, a women�s basketball agent and President of Bruce Levy Associates International, Ltd.
How long have you been a sports agent, and how did you get started in the business?
In 1979, I co-founded a company with the then-radical concept of marketing the sport of women�s basketball to corporate America. Soon after we staged our first event, a French team approached us with their then-radical idea: they wanted to hire a top American for their women�s basketball team. My partners had long operated the leading basketball camps for girls, so finding a suitable player was easy.
Later in the season, other French clubs approached us with the same request. The next season, I thought it would be fun to try to convince other countries to replicate the successful French model. I lucked out, and soon leagues all over Europe and South America were welcoming �import� players.
After two years, I was forced to accept the reality that corporate sponsors in America weren�t ready to embrace women�s basketball. On the other hand, it appeared that teams from Venezuela to Sweden were ready to embrace America�s female basketball players. I found myself in the middle of this explosive demand for these players, whose dream of having a career as a professional athlete had suddenly become a real possibility.
The prospect earning a living by traveling around the globe to help a bunch of unspoiled, very appreciative athletes realize their dreams was awfully appealing. I decided I�d create my own dream job, and with my partners� blessings, I left the company and become the world�s first women�s basketball agent.
Which WNBA player did you expect to be a heckuva player who didn�t pan out?
Irina Osipova has as much talent as any young post player I�ve ever come across. When I signed her with the Shock, I felt she�d be a star in the WNBA within a couple of years. Irina was already a key player with the Russian National Team, and the only possible obstacle she faced on her path to success in the League was adjusting to a new culture.
I was very optimistic that she�d have a quick and smooth transition to playing and living in the States. After all, I�d placed players in the WNBA from over a dozen countries before Irina. Most had never gone to school here, or even been in this country, and several spoke little English when they entered the WNBA. Even raw foreigners I placed in the League�s infancy, like France�s Isabelle Fijalkowski, Czech Eva Nemcova, and notably, Irina�s Russian teammate, Elena Baranova, acclimated without hardship and were immediate impact players.
In addition, no WNBA club had made more of an effort to prepare an international rookie for her new environment, or to prepare the team to help a new arrival be comfortable, than the Shock. When I visited Irina soon after joined the team, I was blown away by the efforts of Coach Laimbeer, John Maxwell, and their staffs to help Irina fit in stresslessly, on and of the court.
Everything was in Irina�s favor to launch an All-Star WNBA career. I was sure she�d make it big. I was so wrong, and I still can�t figure out why. :-(
 Bruce Levy with former WNBA standout Debbie Black |
Becky Hammon . . . against all odds, she walked on to a star-laden team, defied the odds to make the team, and incredibly went on to became a major star.
Which GM is the toughest negotiator in the league?
This is gonna sound like a suck-up answer, but it�s true � I�ve dealt with just about every WNBA GM, and not one of them has been unreasonable or difficult to deal with. Maybe I feel that way because of my experience negotiating contracts with GMs of European clubs. Although they�re usually no problem when we�re negotiating players� salaries, it can be a nightmare getting some to accept the most basic requests when we discuss issues like housing; arrival, departure and holiday dates; the manner and schedule of payments; protective and punitive clauses for Breach of Contract, etc.
What makes dealing with them even tougher is the attitude and behavior I have to contend with on a regular basis -- something thankfully I�ve never experienced with WNBA GMs. Imagine what it�s like to be engaged in a serious discussion about a player�s contract terms with some guy [almost all major women�s clubs have male GMs] who screams and yells at minor provocations, questions your integrity, attacks your client�s character, inquires about her sexual orientation, critiques her �aesthetic appeal�, and so on. Imagine being called �an obnoxious New York Jew� [and by an Israeli, no less!], being threatened with bodily harm if you refuse to re-sign your player with their club, being told transparent lies over and over...And imagine that all this is in a foreign language.
Imagine what that�s like, and it�s no surprise why I can�t characterize any WNBA GM as �tough�.
 Bruce Levy with former Shock guard Andrea Stinson |
Not really . . .
The daily life of a women�s basketball agent produces a constant supply of amusing stories -- which more than offset the horror stories described in my answer above. I wish I could pick out one . . . maybe next time.
What are your three favorite memories of working as a sports agent?
1) Not long ago, a similar question came up when I was together with several other WNBA agents [yeah, believe or not, despite the cut-throat nature of this business, most of us get along quite well]. Pretty much everyone gave the same answer -- our most treasured memories involve the times when we�ve shared moments of joy and triumph with clients, and the times when our players have made us realize how much they appreciate our work and our friendship. I�ve been blessed with many such moments, and it�s impossible to pick out one above the others.
2) The moment I found out that the WNBA was officially going to be launched.
3) I�ll never forget the elation I felt when the final buzzer sounded at the game in Russia which gave the European Cup Championship to a previously mediocre team with which we�d had the good fortune to sign six players, including three Olympians.
What are your three least favorite memories of working as a sports agent?
1) When a client of nearly 15 years, someone I thought of like a sister, fired me. What made this a particularly painful experience were the circumstances which precipitated her action. For some time, it had become increasing evident to almost everyone but her that her skills were fading. One of the sport�s all-time greats, she was still a force in the WNBA, but was fast approaching a level of mediocrity. I couldn�t bear the thought of her being remembered as anything but the franchise player she�d been for over a decade. I�d always prided myself on giving tough love to our clients, but I anguished over the prospect of telling this special client that this should be her final season.
I eventually ran out of excuses, and broke the news -- well, kind of. I wimped out, and dropped hints over several weeks. When my message finally got through, she reacted as if I had betrayed her. We had a few tense exchanges, then she stopped speaking to me. Her next and last season, she surely realized my assessment was right -- but she�s continued to ignore me to this day.
2) When I realized that what at first seemed to be a routine injury to another favorite client and close friend, would inevitably end her brilliant career.
3) When I was informed of the sudden death of an Italian club president who at the time was one of my dearest friends
Ten years ago, did you think the WNBA would still be around in 2006?
Absolutely! With David Stern having staked his reputation on the League�s success, and the selection of Val Ackerman as President, failure was inconceivable.
 Bruce Levy with the New York Liberty's Elena Baranova |
The WNBA was very carefully and expertly planned, and that plan was well implemented from the start. Nevertheless, in its early years, the play was sometimes sloppy, the officiating was inconsistent, and not every coach and GM was ready to direct a pro team. Over time, the play has steadily improved to reach its present high level. Complaints about the officiating will persist eternally, but criticism about lack of consistency is much less prevalent these days. The people who fill management and coaching positions around the league are, with few exceptions, well qualified and effective.
The fan experience was generally positive from the beginning, and each season, clubs come up with creative ideas to enhance it further.
Ten years ago, there wasn�t a lot of media coverage outside the teams� market areas. Despite the efforts of both the League office and individual clubs, this remains a serious handicap in the struggle to expand the WNBA�s national fan base.
Regarding how things have changed for players in the WNBA . . .
Players salaries were the big disappointment in year one; there�s been some modest improvement, but somehow ten years later, few WNBA players can survive financially without supplementing their salary by playing abroad or getting an off-season job at home [how could an agent not make that complaint?]
Benefits and protections for WNBA players have improved significantly, thanks in large part to the introduction of a players� union after the first few years. Unionization brought important benefits to pregnant players, and a pension plan for all players. There are off-season intership and employment opportunites now, whereas almost none existed years ago.
 Bruce Levy with Pollyanna Johns-Kimbrough and Chasity Melvin |
One constant throughout the entire lifespan of the WNBA -- for which both players and their agents are grateful -- is the supportive and caring attitude shown by League officials in matters relating to the players as individuals. By their words and actions, Val Ackerman and her successor, Donna Orender, as well as top executives like Renee� Brown and Jamin Dershowitz, have always shown a degree of sensitivity and respect for players which, in the world of pro sports, may be unique to the WNBA.
Factoring in the role of agents to this comparison of then vs. now . . .
One tangible advantage now enjoyed by today�s WNBA players, compared with the pioneers, is free agency. Before the introduction of free agency rights, every player was the lifetime property of the team she first played for. Pretty feudal, right? Agents hated that absolute restriction on free movement within the League because it eliminated just about all possible leverage in contract negotiations.
As the WNBA heads toward it�s 11th year, players enjoy a measure of freedom. However, that freedom is denied players in their first four seasons. Those entering their 5th and 6th seasons have the right, usually exercised on their behalf by their agents, to solicit offers from other teams. The value of that right is diluted by a rule which states that a player in that �restricted free agent� category can be forced to stay with her current team -- her team just has to match the other offer.
For the relatively small number of players who are able to play seven years or more, there�s the big prize: �unrestricted free agency�. Unfortunately, players in that top category are hardly �unrestricted� . . . A UFA can sign with any team in the WNBA, provided that their current club doesn�t force her to stay by designating her a �Core Player�. Each team can designate up to two Core Players, which in theory could bind as many as the top 28 players to their present team -- forever. In practice, the free agency rules have proven valuable to quite a few veteran players, as well as their agents.
By strategically using these free agency rules, a clever agent can help a client play where she prefers, and at the same time, significantly increase her salary. �Significantly� is a relative term -- no player can earn more than the �Maximum Salary�. That figure, which is determined through collective bargaining, can be put in perspective by this comparison: WNBA players who played in Russia following their 2006 WNBA season received a net salary [on average, per month] which was over twice the WNBA�s maximum salary.
 Levy with the Richie Adubato, Shemeka Christon and Crystal Robinson |
Thinking back, I have to say that Jamin was a �tough negotiator�, but not in the negative �international GM� sense. Jamin was utterly professional and invariably respectful, however, I don�t think that anyone who negotiated against him would ever describe him as �flexible�. Jamin and I never had a bruising battle over contractual issues, but we often engaged in heated debates about WNBA policies. Despite our philosophical differences, any time I needed help for a client, especially in expediting her registration overseas, Jamin would always come through for us.
With the execution of the first Player/League Collective Bargaining Agreement, the negotiating landscape changed instantly. From that point on, WNBA contracts have been negotiated the same way it�s done in the rest of the planet -- between a player�s agent and the GM of her team. That�s been a plus to us all, and probably more so for Jamin!
All things considered, the WNBA was a well-run, player-friendly league from the start, and it�s progressed steadily throughout its decade of operation. The WNBA today may fall short of the ideal envisioned by players and agents, but I believe anyone who was involved with League in its infancy feels a great sense of pride and comfort with the current state of the WNBA.
Thanks again Bruce for tipping off our "10 Questions With . . . " series in style.
For additional information about Bruce Levy and Bruce Levy Associates International, Ltd. please visit their website.