See this is EXACTLY the kind of post that completely baffles me. I just don't know where people get off accusing other professionals, who continue to get hired by high-profile clients, of acting only in their own best interests.
To accuse Donald Fehr of being in it for only his legacy is to say that:
a) he is willing to completely disregard the oath of his profession
b) he is willing to potentially sabotage all of his future earnings as a professional by placing his own goals over those of his clients and running the risk of losing future business as a result
c) because he apparently "earned" this reputation in the past, groups like the NHLPA continue to hire him because they either don't care about their own best interests or are utterly incapable of hiring a competent leader
d) he is both completely incompetent and a professional fraud
Personally I'm not comfortable hurling those kind of accusations at another human being.
Whoa, don't exaggerate by using terms like "completely disregard" or "completely incompetent", or you will miss the point. The concerns about Fehr's character arise from the fact that, by any objective financial metric, he seems to have already rejected the best possible deal and things are getting worse by the week. How could this be?
Now let's focus on his 'clients', the players. What are their interests and what are their vulnerabilities? I would submit that the players are exceptionally young, naive, inexperienced and unsophisticated as a group of adults. Because they have so much money at stake, they need a leader who does not play to their weaknesses (ie the tendency to see life in simple terms, as a battle involving winning and losing) but rather subordinates his and their ego needs to the 'best possible deal', unconditionally. Fehr is not that person.
Why would the PA hire such a flawed leader and why is he still in demand? It happens all the time. Major corporations, religions and countries-including the USA- have been led by such people. Look up any of the copious literature on 'successful psychopaths' or 'narcissistic leaders' and you will see that Fehr is in good company.
I have maintained, in previous posts, that Fehr is abrogating his fiduciary responsibility to the PA by subordinating their interests to his grandiose ideas. It is not personal--I don't hate the guy and he may not even be aware of his hubris --but how can one conclude anything else given the fact that the players are already in a net loss position relative to the owners initial 50/50 proposition, and many stand to lose huge chunks of lifetime earnings if this nonsense goes on.
