SHAW BIDS TO STAY IN ITALY; CELTICS FIGHT IT

June 16, 1990

SHAW BIDS TO STAY IN ITALY; CELTICS FIGHT IT

The Brian Shaw saga took another bizarre twist when the Celtics revealed yesterday they went before an NBA arbitrator to enforce their five-year deal with the prodigal point guard. The move was necessitated after Shaw, through his attorney, sought to renege on the deal and return for another season with Il Messaggero in Italy.

Arbitrator Daniel G. Collins, in a seven-page decision handed down Thursday, ruled Shaw's $6.2 million contract with the Celtics, signed in January, was legal and binding. The arbitrator also forbade Shaw from playing elsewhere over those five years, found him in violation of the contract for notifying the Celtics that he wanted to do just that, and ordered Shaw to inform Il Messaggero next Wednesday that the Italian team would no longer have his services.

The Celtics, as an enforcement vehicle, also filed an action in US District Court yesterday. A legal source familiar with NBA matters said arbitrators' rulings cannot be overturned unless there was some egregious violation, such as abuse of power or lack of jurisdiction. "It can happen," he conceded. "But it's very, very, very, very, very rare."

The question on everyone's mind, most notably the Celtics', was why? What was Shaw doing? Was he serious about returning to Italy or was there some hidden agenda? They have not heard from Shaw for more than two weeks and have been unable to talk to him since learning of this new wrinkle.

It was learned that Shaw's attorney, Jerome Stanley, also was representing Il Messaggero at the recent Orlando Classic, an all-star game involving potential college draftees held in April. Stanley was accompanied by the son of the owner of the team. Was he trying to redeliver Shaw for a fee? He would not get into the specifics of the case when reached at his California office.

"I cannot talk about it now," said Stanley. "It's much too sensitive and complex. Very complex. Brian thoroughly enjoys the city of Boston and has great friends and acquaintances there."

How about the Celtics?

"I can't get into that," he said. "But Brian's side hasn't come out yet. He hasn't had a chance to present his side of the story."

Shaw did have an opportunity at the hearing -- it even was adjourned several hours so that he might make it -- but did not appear. He instead was represented by Stanley and two of Stanley's associates.

"The hearing was on 23-hour notice," Stanley said. "There wasn't enough time for Brian to gather the information necessary to support what we are asserting." There was no evidence on Shaw's behalf produced at the hearing, and the arbitrator denied a request by Stanley for a delay to assemble data.

Shaw was unavailable for comment. "He has gone fishing," Stanley said, half in jest. Reggie Lewis, his closest friend on the Celtics, said he was unaware of the latest development. So did former coach Jimmy Rodgers, with whom Shaw was close. Calls to Shaw's home in California met with an answering machine. His mother, Barbara, was said to be out of town. There was no answer at Shaw's former address in Rome.

The Celtics, meanwhile, are as mystified as everyone else. Coach Chris Ford, three days on the job, called the matter "troublesome and perplexing" and added he wants to have a chat with the player. Operations chief Dave Gavitt termed it "a very big surprise to us. I'm not going to prejudge Brian Shaw or his thoughts until I have an opportunity to speak to him, which at this point has been denied to us."

After a fine rookie season with the Celtics, Shaw stunned everyone by signing a two-year deal with Il Messaggero on Aug. 10, 1989. The contract contained an escape clause after one season. On Jan. 26, a month after his former agent, Leonard Armato, met with Celtics officials in Los Angeles, Shaw fired Armato and re-signed with Boston, a deal commencing in the 1990-91
season.

The first hint that anything was amiss came in a June 6 letter from Stanley to Celtics vice chairman of the board Alan Cohen. In the letter, which was printed in the arbitration decision, Stanley said Shaw would not exercise his right of termination with Il Messaggero and planned to return there for another season.

Under the terms of his Il Messaggero contract, Shaw had the right to rescind the deal only by returning to play in the NBA. All he had to do was notify the Italian team of his intentions between June 20 and July 20.Stanley's letter to Cohen said Shaw's decision to re-sign with the Celtics -- a signing that was accompanied by a $450,000 bonus -- was "made in an atmosphere clearly ill suited for decision-making on his part. He was at the time only 23 years old, impressionable, legally unsophisticated, living in a foreign country and isolated from his family and friends."

In addition, Stanley asserted, "He was frustrated and overly sensitive to the adverse, misplaced and undeserved Italian press he was receiving . . . I was quite surprised to learn that no Celtics representative suggested, let alone required, that Brian have counsel during the negotiations."

According to sources, the Celtics are under no obligation to insist that Shaw has counsel or representation. That is the player's decision. According to the decision, Shaw read the contract carefully and signed it (in Rome) in the presence of a notary public and a US counsel. Further, the decision noted Shaw understood exactly what he was doing.

Stanley's letter added Shaw felt "ethically and morally bound to remain with Il Messaggero as an indication of the gratitude he feels for the affection, generosity, confidence and trust displayed towards him." It concluded with a request that the matter be resolved "quietly and amicably . . . that you will share our interest in keeping this matter from the press, media and other third parties."

After receiving the letter, the Celtics told Stanley they expected Shaw to honor the Boston contract. They then called for a swift arbitration hearing, which was held Wednesday and Thursday in New York.