After the executives argued for a while, Stern said coldly: "Gentlemen, in view of the sharp decline in operating income, I have decided to reduce the salaries of all executives, including me, including the referee committee and all referees, by 50%. ”

"What?"

The executives turned around and looked at Stern, and everyone was stunned.

The four executives were also a little dumbfounded, the loss of the previous alliance was the boss's, and it had nothing to do with them, but the salary was their own, and they lost half of it, so they must not be hated to death by their colleagues?

"President, why did you lower our salary? Someone has to step up and take responsibility. "Some executives said angrily.

"Yes, expel them." Immediately, many people joined the Tao.

An hour later, the NBA announced that senior vice presidents Billy Rick and Leo Rogries had been fired for serious missteps.

Stern didn't choose to be fired, hoping to reduce some of the resistance.

Now those eight executives have two heads of referee committees, and they have the support of referees, which is the most difficult thing to do.

……

"Michael Tyson: I fight the Iron Fist as easily as I do my own sparring partner." German Bild Times.

"Tekken vs. Iron Michael, the battle of the century!" Le Monde.

"We'll see who will do whom's free sparring." New york times.

"A battle between two of the most popular world heavyweight champions, one of the greatest world heavyweight championships of the century." BBC TV, UK.

"Rates at major hotels in New York have skyrocketed by 350 percent." New York TV.

"Six hundred and thirty-seven gambling companies around the world have opened markets for the Iron Fist vs. Iron Michael boxing tournament, and it is expected that more than 200 million people will participate in the bet, and hundreds of billions of dollars will be involved in this big gamble around the world." Washington post.

On the morning of the 29th, not only in the United States, but also in the world, the front pages of major media were full of news about boxing matches.

Since that day, many of the richest have flown their own private jets from all over the United States, from all over the world, to New York.

Prices in New York's major hotels have skyrocketed, especially those around Madison Square Garden, which have skyrocketed by six or seven times, and they have long been booked.

With such a large amount of attention, dozens of brands endorsed by Zhou Quan have also been greatly affected, and their sales have skyrocketed. The stock prices of these dozens of companies are the same, climbing steadily.

……

"The NBA has announced a 50% pay cut for all executives and referees, and as of today it has fired and fired six executives, all of whom are said to be related to the retirement of the Iron Fist, and the NBA has shown a dilapidated appearance after the retirement of the Iron Fist." Los Angeles Times.

"The NBA officially announced and committed to the outside world that the NBA league will maintain zero tolerance for racial discrimination." New york times.

"Under the urging of the Iron Fist King, the NBA league will carry out a large-scale purge." The Seattle Times.

"According to the data released by the NBA league, the operating income of the new season is expected to plummet, and the vast majority of teams will fall into a state of loss. A new round of collective bargaining will take place in the summer of '98, and there is an expected risk of shutdown. From the 98/99 season onwards, the salary cap will be lowered and the average salary of players will be drastically reduced. The Wall Street Journal.

"The Hockey League, the NHL, surpassed the NBA to become the third of the four major professional sports leagues." Detroit Daily News.

On this day, there were also a lot of NBA news on the headlines of the sports pages of various media, but they were all very negative news.

At three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, Magic Johnson appeared at LaGuardia Airport in New York and was spotted by several media reporters for an interview.

"Erwin, are you here to watch the Iron Fist and Iron Michael fight?"

"Oh yes."

"It's said that you have a bad relationship with the Iron Fist King, why do you want to watch him fight?"

"No, it's not what you said, my relationship with him is just not that close, not as good as Karim's relationship with him, after all, they are alumni."

"So Iron Fist and Iron Michael, who do you support?"

"Iron Fist, of course."

"Do you welcome Tekken back to the NBA?"

"Oh, it's so bad now! There's a big problem in the league and it's going to be a tough couple of years ahead, so if Tekken returns, that's the best news. Hearing this, the magician sighed.

……

Or LaGuardia Airport, which is one of the three major passenger airports in New York, mainly for domestic flights and a small number of international flights.

As soon as O'Neill walked out of the exit with his large suitcase, he was surrounded by a group of reporters waiting here.

"Shaq, you're here to see the fight, right?"

"Of course. You don't have to ask, of course I'm for Tekken, I'm his brother. O'Neill giggled.

"Shaq, what do you think of the current situation in the NBA?"

"It sucks, some people forced Iron Fist away, and now it's a big deal." O'Neill couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Do you think Tekken should come back to the NBA?"

"Let the guys who forced him go, the bastards who discriminated against him, kneel and beg him." O'Neill said unceremoniously.

……

That night, Zhou Quan arranged a big party at the Hilton Hotel, inviting all the stars and celebrities who supported him to attend.

Originally, only about 100 friends were invited, but in the end, more than 400 people attended the party, and two more halls had to be opened temporarily.

Fortunately, the party in the hotel was very professional and quite smooth.

On the 29th, Zhou Quan still maintained a small training volume.

After resting after lunch, Philip came over and said, "Zhou, there is not much difference between you and Tyson in the handicap offered by gambling companies all over the world now. There are those who are more optimistic about yours, and there are those who are more optimistic about him, but the odds are not large, and none of the highest ones exceed $1:1.15. ”

"What about the insiders?" Zhou Quan asked.

"It's the same."

When Philip said this, he suddenly changed the topic and said in a gloating tone: "Now the NBA is very sad, and there will be more small teams with more losses in the new season." Especially next season, with the execution of a new TV contract, this situation will certainly intensify. By the way, the NBA has just officially announced a meeting of owners. I'm guessing it's going to be cleaned. ”

"I heard that Hughes Blake is bankrupt, what about Adam Shaw?" Zhou Quan asked curiously.

Philip laughed: "Blake is already on the streets, he can't find a job at all, and no sports league dares to ask him to be a referee."

As for Adam Shaw, according to media news, it is also troublesome now, and like Blake, he can't find a job.

His mortgage and college loan bank has revealed that Xiao Hua's mortgage and student loan have been overdue for a month. I don't think I'll be able to find a job again, and two months later he'll be the same as Blake.

In the United States, you can be racist in private, but you can't expose it, and those who break this rule will not end well. ”

"Huh!"

Zhou Quan smiled heartily.

Philip smiled and said: "Of the eight executives who targeted you, Stern has fired a total of six, and the other four are better than Adam Shaw and Blake, who have worked for many years, especially as an executive for at least five years, and have savings.

Xiao Hua is only 35 years old, he has only worked for 10 years, he worked in a law firm before 92, his level is not enough, his income is not high, his position in the NBA is not high, he has just been promoted to a special assistant, plus a student loan, he has no savings at all, he can't find a job, and he will have to go bankrupt in a short time. ”

"Rogge, find someone to take some pictures of Hughes Blake and show me, make me happy." Zhou Quan said with some wicked amusement.

"Haha, OK. In two or three months, I'll have people take a few more pictures of Adam Shaw wandering the streets, so that you can be happy again. Philip laughed.

"Haha!"

……

On the 30th, on the eve of the boxing match.

On this day, Zhou Quan's training increased, and his powerful physical functions were completely activated by the large amount of training, and under the adjustment of Sleep Dangong, his spirit and spirit also reached the peak state.

On this day, there are also more private jets arriving at various private airports in New York.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the owners of the 29 teams in the NBA league or their carte blanche arrived in New York for a meeting convened by Stern.

When the meeting began, Stern sat down at one end of the oval conference table with a heavy face, and said in a firm tone:

"Gentlemen, whatever your attitude towards the Iron Fist, whatever your attitude towards racial discrimination, I want to tell you now that we must wage war against racial discrimination."

Bosses, you look at me, I look at you, no one speaks for the time being, waiting for Stern's next step.

Stern continued: "It is in the interest of all of us to wage war against racial discrimination, and if not, this alliance will continue to decay and the interests of all of you will suffer greatly. ”

At this point, he began to cite the numbers, saying, "We would lose $1.5 to $1.7 billion on the next TV contract alone, hundreds of millions of dollars a year."

Overseas operating revenue will lose about $250 million a year since the start of the new season, in addition to the loss of jersey sales, the most serious is that most of the overseas TV station rights purchase plans were canceled last season, including China CCTV.

This is the part we have lost the most, we have been developing the world for so many years, and now all our efforts have been in vain.

The other venues lost about $300 million in sponsorship revenue. The hidden loss of value is even more immeasurable. Wall Street's valuation of the NBA has fallen by more than half a percent. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room burst into discussion.

"Because of racial discrimination, our losses are too great, let's go to war, like the iron fist said, there will be a great purge."

"There has to be a war, and we have zero tolerance for racial discrimination."

"David, we've got your back."

"After the cleansing, please come back to the Iron Fist King."

Many bosses couldn't help but nod their heads, and their faces were very heavy.

They are some owners who don't have much money, and perhaps the team is the majority of their net worth, and these are the people who are the most annoyed and the most supportive of Stern, because the loss now hurts them the most.

Among these people is the owner of the Lakers, Jerry Buss.

Most of his net worth is the Lakers, and although he has the big ball market in Los Angeles, he will also suffer a lot this time.

"Our losses are too great, we should seek to bring the Iron Fist King back, and we must rely on his influence to stop the loss," he said heavily.

As long as he comes back, the ratings will definitely come back, and although the TV contract has been signed, the rest of the operating income should also come back slowly, and as long as it lasts for five years, everything will be better. ”

Speaking of which, he said to the bosses who were silent: "You also take a stand, if you don't take a stand, you will also lose a lot." ”

Although Clippers owner Sterling is a racist, discriminating against colored stars such as Zhou Quan and Magic in his heart, but the loss is too great now, he calculated, he will lose two to three hundred million dollars in the next five years, which is enough to make him break his bones, and all his current net worth is only hundreds of millions of dollars, which is not as good as Jerebas.

So when Jerry Buss looked at him, he immediately raised his hand and said, "David, I support you, clean up, kick out the guys who caused us to lose a lot of money, let them all go bankrupt and sleep on the street." ”

"We're going to get out there and not allow any company to hire them." A small boss suggested.

"Yes, they should be bankrupt." Immediately, someone chimed in.

"David, what are you going to do?" Jerebus asked.

"Gentlemen, I publicly announced the day before yesterday that the NBA has zero tolerance for racial discrimination," Stern said.

Next, I'm going to do what Iron Fist said, and do a massive purge, from the top of the league to the ordinary staff, but also the referees, and all of your teams, starting with your bosses, to the staff below. ”

The corners of Sterling's mouth twitched, Stern, you old boy, are you coming for me? Damn, you can't talk nonsense in the future.

"Could it be too big?" There are bosses who are worried about the authenticity.

"I can't take care of it now, if it goes on like this, maybe one day the alliance will go bankrupt." Someone said.

"Then let's do it." More people said.

David Stern said: "My plan is to clean up before the new season starts and face the world with a new look. Gentlemen, there is not much time, so let's get started when you agree. ”

“OK。”

Everyone said.

"Well, these are two president's orders that I've signed."

David Stern took out two pieces of paper, showed them to everyone, and said: "I want to dismiss the chairman of the referee committee, Lirodics, and the vice chairman of the committee, Betches Wells, the two of them are the ones named by Iron Fist, and they are also the people who are most targeted at Iron Fist." If you agree, sign it. ”

After the bosses exchanged words, they all nodded and began to sign the president's order.

Subsequently, after the meeting, Stern officially issued the two presidential orders to the whole company.

There are the signatures of twenty-nine bosses, even if these two chairmen are in high positions in the NBA, no one dares to doubt it, and no one on the referee committee dares to jump out.

Stern even came to the office of the referee committee in person with the president's order, and said very sternly to all the middle and senior members of the referee committee:

"Please remember gentlemen, if Iron Fist doesn't come back, all of you will lose your jobs, including the referees under your hands, and I don't mind replacing you all."

“……”

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other.

Next, Stern began a vigorous purge at the Alliance headquarters.

And after the 29 team owners returned, they also began to purge, and all those who had racist behaviors were among the purges.

"Cheers!"

After getting the news of the NBA's purge, the happy Roger Philip opened a bottle of Champagne to celebrate.

……

(End of chapter)