After several days of exchanges, an agreement has been reached between the NBL and the SNB.
This agreement follows a double mobilization of players that began on May 20, 2021.
As a reminder, a letter, signed by the 18 captains of the Jeep Elite, had been sent to all actors of French basketball to alert on the conditions of the end of the championship and ask for the cancellation of the final phases.
Among the main concerns, the physical integrity of the players who have experienced a season with repeated injuries in recent weeks.
However, the final phases have been maintained under a new format (the Final 8 changed into Final 4 with 1/4 finals).
Therefore, all the players of the Jeep Elite have decided to launch a call to strike.
Amara Sy, President of the SNB, explains:
“The season has been long and intense for all of us.
It was urgent to be able to put the physical integrity of the players at the center of the debate. We decided to mobilize through this action to make our concerns heard”.
After a first meeting on Monday, June 14 and several days of exchanges, an agreement was finally found with the LNB.
For Amara, the success of this agreement is mainly the consequence of a real dialogue with the LNB:
“Even if such a step does not please anyone, this mobilization was necessary for us to be listened to. The players regretted that the alert sent a few weeks earlier was not sufficiently considered by the NBL.
For the finals, we know that solutions are very difficult to find because the injuries are linked and some staff are already decimated.
We are therefore aware that this end of season remains what it is but we were finally able to unblock this situation from the moment the players felt heard and supported and that measures were taken to preserve us, especially for the next seasons.
From now on, we are going to do what we can, with the weapons we have, to finish these final phases as well as possible”.
New measures that should be applied in the short, medium and long term as the President of the SNB said:
“The collaborative work of the last few days has been very constructive.
First of all, we will have the reinforced presence of medical staff during the final phases and recovery devices will be made available to us (cryogenics).
Moreover, the beginning of the sports season will be shifted to October 1st in order to give us more rest since the convocations in club will be possible only from August 17th.
Finally, it has been decided that, for the coming seasons, we will only be able to be called for the resumption of the club season 6 weeks, at the earliest, before the first championship match.
These are important advances for us because the duration of the off-season will be extended and will allow for better recovery”.
To conclude, Amara recalls that the LNB has proposed to the SNB changes in the governance:
“From next season, the SNB will have more weight within the Steering Committee and the General Assembly of the LNB.
The SNB will also be invited to the meetings of the LNB Board. We are satisfied with these proposals which will allow the players to occupy a more important place within the authorities of the LNB. We hope that we can avoid such strong actions”.
The call to strike was thus lifted by the SNB.