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Ask the CEO

July 17, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release


Question from Robert W (and others): (In relation to July 17 Ask the CEO): "Aren't you really concerned with the other league recruiting your teams?"

Answer: Robert and others. Thank you for the emails and the questions. Of course I'm concerned. I hope I did not leave the impression I wasn't. The foundation of the free enterprise system is competition. Advertising agencies compete with one another to secure clients. Walmart competes with Target for customers. Home Depot competes with Lowes for customers. McDonalds competes with Burger King for customers. American Airlines competes with Delta Airlines for customers. Mastercard competes with Visa for customers. They all compete by presenting the quality of their product abd services and their value to the marketplace. Competition is good.

It is the other league's methods that I question. Competition based on misrepresentations, altered emails, vindictiiveness and using proprietary information is not good competition. There's a reason that the other league had four teams going into this season after 61 years of operation. The fact that they have targeted the ABA for expansion doesn't change a thing. For them, it's business as usual.

We do not like the idea of ABA teams leaving. There is certainly no advantage to "the other league" as history has shown. But we will not operate as they do. Ethics will continue to be our foundation. And we welcome good competition. If you have a question, please email joenewman@abalive.com.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.

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American Basketball Association Stories from July 17, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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