John Wooden won't hand out his award

[LoKyBuckeye]

Wooden won't participate in namesake award

Associated Press

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/4816070


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hall of Fame coach John R. Wooden, who led UCLA to 10 national championships, says that for the first time in nearly three decades he won't present the prestigious collegiate player of the year award bearing his name, due to a dispute with the group that sponsors the prize.

The 94-year-old Wooden, however, said he won't contest the use of his name for the award.

"I don't want anything to interfere with the continuation of the award," he told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Los Angeles Athletic Club President Steve Hathaway, whose group sponsors the award in concert with Wooden, said the dispute concerned Wooden's decision to lend his name to an unrelated award in January.

"As part of its stewardship of the award, the club has a legal duty to defend its trademarks that protect the award," Hathaway said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story Saturday.

Hathaway said he was "shocked and saddened" by Wooden's decision.

Wooden family agent Mark Humenik said the two sides differed over how Wooden should be able to use his name. When asked if they might eventually reach an agreement, he said "never say never."

Wooden retired as UCLA's coach in 1975, after winning the 10 NCAA championships in his last 12 years. The Wooden Award has been given annually since then.

Past winners include Michael Jordan, David Robinson and Larry Bird.

Wooden gave the club the John R. Wooden trademark for the men's award, as well as one for women's player of the year and one for coaches.

"I'm not bitter," Wooden said. "I'm feeling better than I have a right to feel at my age. I've been blessed."

 

[OilerBuck]

Having the privilege of knowing Coach as a family friend, I know that this must be some sort of ethical stance on his part. I've never met another man of his status, that maintains his integrity and faith at such a high level. I may do some research into the award's new sponsor and see if there is an obvious moral objection he may have to the affiliation.

Despite what he said, Coach hasn't been feeling that well the last few times I've seen him. He's been more weak and all of these "events" are taking a toll. I think that may also play a part in this as well. I can only hope he's around the next time we go. College basketball will have lost a great mind, and the world will have lost a great humanitarian when John Wooden is gone.

 

[CausticMick]

Having the privilege of knowing Coach as a family friend, I know that this must be some sort of ethical stance on his part. I've never met another man of his status, that maintains his integrity and faith at such a high level. I may do some research into the award's new sponsor and see if there is an obvious moral objection he may have to the affiliation.

Despite what he said, Coach hasn't been feeling that well the last few times I've seen him. He's been more weak and all of these "events" are taking a toll. I think that may also play a part in this as well. I can only hope he's around the next time we go. College basketball will have lost a great mind, and the world will have lost a great humanitarian when John Wooden is gone.

Awesome post. Emeralds for you. I am reading his book Be Quick- But Don't Hurry that he wrote with one of his former players, Andrew Hill. I've seen Mr. Hill speak twice through my employer, Nationwide. My take on this is that Mr. Wooden is such a humble man that he does not want to partake in anything that puts him on a pedestal. Coupled with his current state of health, I don't understand why this came as such a shock to Mr. Hathaway. Mr. Wooden is a saint-like man that has inspired so many people, many of whom he never had the opportunity to meet (as he would describe).

 

[sandgk]

Here is a longer version related to the same ironic back-story - the only hero in which remains Wooden himself. This appeared in Sports Illustrated at the end of August..

John Wooden's name is synonymous with winning. Winning is what he did with alarming regularity while coaching the UCLA men's basketball team to seven consecutive NCAA Championships. Winning was the only thing he did as he rattled off 38 straight tournament victories. Coach Wooden was a winner as a player, too. He was the first person inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach. Not even World War II could contain him. He served our country proudly from 1943-46 and left the United States Navy as a Full Lieutenant after fulfilling his duty and helping the Allied Powers to (what else?) a win. Last Friday, however, after 885 career victories, coach John R. Wooden lost a big one.
Sadly, Coach Wooden learned that the pen is mightier than the sword, and no amount of X's and O's can help you execute against a simple signature.
In 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club and Wooden made a handshake deal to work in concert to give the best college basketball player in the country the John R. Wooden Award. The two parties hoped The Wooden Award would someday match the Heisman Trophy in prestige for colligiate athletes. They nearly succeded.
Far too routinely, the Heisman Trophy has been handed to a young man who dominated the college ranks but flamed out in the NFL. The Wooden Award winner by contrast, routinely goes on to become a perennial All-Star in the NBA. With apologies to Ed O'Bannon, a short list of Wooden Award winners reads like a wing in the Hall of Fame. Names such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Elton Brand and Sean Elliot show that the Wooden Award is an honor given to not just to winners, but also to men who have class and dignity. How, then, could something so right go so wrong?
Last Friday, Coach Wooden announced that he was withdrawing his support from the award and "will no longer have any personal involvement with it because of disagreements with the club (LAAC) over the use of my name."
Coach Wooden went on to state that he would "not contest LAAC's continuance of those awards."
What would make a man as great as John Wooden not contest a second party's use of his name if he was no longer supporting the organization? The answer is indicative of the coach himself: honor.
A handshake agreement can only last so long. With the enormous success of The Wooden Award, and the big business that accompanies any such success, The Los Angeles Athletic Club found it prudent to get something in writing to protect its end of the agreement. Coach Wooden signed the use of his name over to the LAAC, which in turn quickly trademarked the moniker.
Instead of taking advantage of such a gift, the LAAC showed great respect for the Wooden name. The basketball court inside the LAAC is appropriately named the "John R. Wooden Award Court." On that court the club conducts clinics and youth basketball camps. The club brings in a professional NBA star to teach at these camps, which stresses fundamentals and teamwork. Babysitting is even offered to employees of the camp. The LAAC also offers summer camp,which includes friendship circles, swimming lessons and field trips. All in all, the people of the LAAC seem to be a classy bunch.
For a parting of ways of this size and scope, both the LAAC and John Wooden seem downright friendly about it. Wooden will allow the club to continue using his name, and in reference to Wooden Award chairman Doug Llewelly, in his statement the legendary coach used wordslike "great respect" and "appreciative." On the other side of the divide, LAAC president, Steve Hathaway lamented that he was, "shocked and saddened" by Wooden's request.
Given his .813 career winning percentage, it's reasonable to surmise that the one play Coach Wooden wishes he hadn't called was the signing over of his iconic name to the LAAC.
Last January, Coach Wooden and a group known as Atheletes for a Better World presented Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning with an award dubbed "The Wooden Cup." Having gone through the trouble of filing the proper legal paper work to trademark the name "Wooden" for practically everything other than a driver's license, the LAAC cried foul. The club feared that use of Wooden's name for awards other than the John R. Wooden Award would diminish its prestige. The Wooden Cup presentation was even held at the Biltmore Hotel, where the basketball trophy annually is issued. Coach Wooden must have realized the preposterousness of the situation. Having allowed someone other than himself or his family to trademark his name, he was now legally bound to not use it or be in breach of the contracts he signed. It seems ridiculous, but all the transactions between Wooden and the LAAC are legit and the organization had every legal right to protest Wooden's use of his own name.
Judging by the grace, class and dignity by which he excused himself from what could have been a monstrous legal battle, Coach Wooden must have realized he made a giant mistake the day he signed over the rights to his own last name.
Last Friday, for the first time, John R. Wooden found himself outcoached.

Really very sad that the symbolism imparted by his name has now overtaken Wooden's effective ownership of the same.

Reminds of the volume of Dune in a kind of odd way ..