How to get into the n_b_a_ they're really isn't
a uh uh
there are there are ways you shouldn't
you shouldn't
try but there's no real clear
path to uh... jobs in uh... in sports it is the demand is extraordinarily
high
when i started
it was i was
extraordinarily lucky to be in a situation where
i wanted to be doing something that not a lot of other people did
mhm and uh... so there was not the same
demand i did not have been the same competition initially that uh... ultimately uh... is
there now and and and has been there for a while
I probably if I had seen my resume
while i was with the celtics
if I'd seen my resume without my name on it just looking at what i had done and
would've presented I probably would not have hired me
and the reason for that is uh...
and this is something that i think does apply to
to law students and and uh... lawyers uh... i don't think i would have uh...
would have hired a lawyer to do the job that I did when i started and i started at an entry-level
job
um... in sports for the most part
job opportunities with some rare exceptions
are entry level you have to pay your dues
without a lot of
uh... of
probability without a great probability that you're going to step up in the organization
or at least step up very quickly
uh... so i would have looked at my resume and said oh he's a lawyer
he's not going to be happy selling tickets
he's just not going to be happy doing that I probably would move on to somebody else
and that's
a little depressing when when you look at it uh... from that perspective
the um... the thing what i tell my students which may not be applicable to the to our
audience here
uh... is that if you're going to if you want to get
an opportunity the best way to do it is through an internship where there is not a commitment by a team where there
isn't uh... in all probability a financial
requirement on their part
and you go in and you
do the job
whatever it is
and a lot of uh... uh... a lot of teams and i know the celtics were this way and this
was the way it was when i was there uh... will only uh... entertain internships that get
course credit from colleges
so uh... that they're no volunteers no volunteers no
in the in the end what happened what happened with us at the celtics and i think it's
still
to a greater or lesser degree applicable across the board is that we often hired
as infrequently as job openings uh...
came about we often hired out of our pool
of uh... interns who had been there in the last few years because we had an opportunity
to view these people
in this context in in the field
it's almost like a try out
and
if in the end uh... you get a job that way uh... chances are you're going to do well at it too because
you understand before you get in
what's involved
what do you think the most important skill set you brought to the table in achieving success
with the celtics was
nobody has ever asked me that before that's hard to believe
I was in the right place at the right time for a lot of reasons and one of the things that happened that worked for my benefit is something I told you about with red and that red understood what he
didn't know
and and and dot people to do those jobs so that we had a
he was complete
and he was able to function and do what he did exceptionally well
uh... I started selling season tickets
within within five months
I was thrown a legal
issue on a sunday afternoon because red could not get a hold of the lawyer
the lawyer who was skiing in nineteen seventy two might as well have been on the moon
and we had a trade that we had to do
and had to get done
and uh... he resorted to me
and I quickly got on the phone without going into the details it involved a
contingent trade that uh... uh... if we didn't get it done that day couldn't let the guy leave
the building it was during a game
that was going on and he was going to leave when the game was over i ran downstairs i called a couple of my
buddies who had six months of
uh... uh... law firm
experience and we
talked it through I cobbled together a contract signed it
ultimately it was the trade that brought paul silas
to boston and two championships
but it started me on a path
that uh... was
was wonderful for me because i was now working in
although not
that next day but red started giving me things to do
and what i look back on and realize
is that
in the in in in respect to sports law
nobody at that time knew anything more than i did
it was evolving right before my eyes so I was very lucky so I took advantage I worked really hard
uh... i was
I was a detail person
uh... and ultimately
forged a career for myself