Grüße und Vorstellung » Guess what our approach will be

Twin lawsuits were filed Friday against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League by former player Lukas Walter. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . In his $50-million case against the QMJHL, Walter alleges that the leagues teams conspired to rewrite standard player contracts last year to avoid paying players the legal minimum wage. In a second, $60-million case filed in Calgary against the WHL, Walter alleged that the work visa the Tri-City Americans secured for him to play for them is proof he had an employer-employee relationship with the team, and should be paid at least minimum wage. The lawsuits were both obtained by TSN. Over the past months, the Canadian Hockey Leagues three major junior leagues have come under fire by former players and union organizers over their working conditions for players. While few of the CHLs star players have complained, other lesser-known players contend that they are receiving a pittance while playing for leagues that have become big business. A recent lawsuit showed that former Oshawa Generals president Patricia Campbell was paid $150,000 during her first year on the job. Player agents say coaches and general managers of teams make some $200,000 each per year. So why are players, 95 per cent of whom wont have long careers in the NHL, expected to work for free? asked one NHL player agent. The CHL and its supporters say, fine, well pay minimum wage and you pay for your sticks and room and board. But thats a ridiculous argument. Does Ford make its workers on the line pay for tools? Its the cost of doing business. The agent also pointed out that room and board wouldnt be necessary if the CHL dropped its player draft and allowed players to play for teams near their family home. Walter, from B.C., played the 2013-14 season with the Saint John Sea Dogs. According to his statement of claim against the QMJHL, Walter signed a contract as a 20-year-old player with Saint John on Sept. 13, 2013. He was to receive $476 per week in compensation, and another $90 a week for accommodation, court papers say. Walter played 53 games as a forward for the Sea Dogs, primarily playing the role of an enforcer. He alleges that he was paid $8,314.29 for the six-month season, and that a record of employment shows that he officially worked 1,048 hours over that time for the team. Lukass bi-weekly pay was always the same, no matter how many hours each week he worked for the team, his lawsuit says. In some weeks, he did not receive a fee equivalent to minimum wage, nor did he receive any vacation pay, holiday pay or overtime pay as required under the applicable employment standards legislation. Walter alleged teams in the QMJHL have unlawfully, maliciously ... conspired and agreed together, the one with the other, to act in concert to demand or require that all players sign a contract which (they) knew was unlawful. Walter is asking that the Quebec court certify his case as a class action lawsuit and award damages of $50 million. Walters allegations have not been proven and the QMJHL and Sea Dogs have not filed a response in court. CHL commissioner David Branch did not respond to an email seeking comment. A QMJHL spokesman couldnt be reached for comment. A Sea Dogs spokesman referred calls to the QMJHL. In a second lawsuit filed later Friday, Walter said that he played the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons for the Tri-City Americans, earning (U.S.) $70 a week in his first season and (U.S.) $85 a week during his second season. Walter is Canadian and the Americans play in Kennewick, Washington. In order for him to travel to the team, its officials acquired him a P-1 work visa for internationally recognized athletes. The entire time he played for the Americans, he was not a student at any time, the lawsuit says. Walter has sued for $45 million worth of back pay, holiday pay and overtime, and $15 million in punitive damages. He is also seeking to certify the Alberta case as a class action. We have not yet had the opportunity to review the lawsuit received late this afternoon, said WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a statement. The WHL will however vigorously defend our player experience and the extensive investment our ownership makes in our players. We will also be addressing those matters that are being taken out of context and used in lawsuits which have been orchestrated by individuals who have no association with the Canadian hockey system or the WHL. WHL players are amateur athletes who are registered in the Canadian amateur system and they receive an extensive benefit package while playing in our League. There is no indication from our current players or their families that they are being treated in any way but a highly fair and respectful manner. Walters lawsuits came days after another lawsuit was filed by former Ontario Hockey League player Sam Berg against the CHL, the governing body for 60 teams in the OHL, QMJHL and Western Hockey League. A statement of claim filed by Berg on behalf of himself and thousands of other players seeks $180 million in outstanding wages, vacation, holiday and overtime pay and employer payroll contributions, according to legal documents obtained by TSN. The documents filed by Berg show players in the OHL receive $50 to $120 a week in compensation, while players in the QMJHL get $35 to $150, depending on the age of the player. Those aged 16 to 19 get $50 a week in the OHL and $35 a week in the QMJHL. CHL president David Branch has repeatedly said that players in the CHL are student athletes, and are well compensated, thanks largely to an education program the league has in place that provides some players with university scholarships when they are done playing. That description of players as student athletes is now under fire in Walters lawsuit. In past years, players were described as independent contractors by teams in their contracts. But in 2013, at the same time as questions were being raised in the U.S. over whether NCAA student athletes receive their fair share of compensation, the CHL redrafted contracts to remove references to fees, Waltons lawsuit alleges. Instead the players fees were recast as an allowance. QMJHL teams have reworded the former contract to describe the fee as an allowance and to recast the status between players and clubs as one of student athletes in an attempt to avoid minimum-wage laws, Walton says. In the wake of Bergs lawsuit and as the union, Unifor continues efforts to start a players union for major-junior hockey, several player agents told TSN that its common practice for teams to give players T-4 tax slips, which they say is evidence that players are employees, not student athletes as Branch describes them. On Oct. 23, before Walton filed his lawsuit, TSN sent Branch a series of emailed questions. One question was: Some OHL teams issued T4 slips for the 2013 tax year ... doesnt that establish an employee-employer relationship? Branch replied on Oct. 24 that we are not currently issuing T4s and we are not certain what the past practices of our Clubs may have been. The teams are responsible for filing their own tax documents and the league doesnt have access to their detailed information. While TSN has learned that the CHL also has a new TV contract with Rogers Communications that is worth at least $5 million a season (the previous TV contract was a barter deal with no rights fee), Branch declined to discuss terms of the CHLs TV contract. The CHL teams also have relationships with video game companies, as noted by Walter in his lawsuit against the Americans and the WHL. The (WHL) used images of Luke for their own profit, including, but not limited to selling the use of his image and name to video game companies for use in a video game which Luke purchased at full price with his own money, Walters lawsuit says. Branch, meanwhile, was also asked about recent changes to the standard players agreement (SPA) in the OHL. I will reiterate that 97 per cent of our players are represented by agents, in addition, the players and their parents are required to sign the SPA and to either provide a certificate of independent legal counsel or a waiver of such, Branch wrote. Brendan Perlini Jersey . Andrews, Scotland - Oliver Wilson fired a final- round, 2-under 70 on Sunday and he held on to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot. Alex Goligoski Jersey . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. http://www.coyotesauthority.com/authentic-louis-domingue-coyotes-jersey/ . It is unclear how long Kallstrom, who was brought in to alleviate the teams midfield problems, will be sidelined. Arsenals communications director, Mark Gonnella, says the club decided to proceed with Kallstroms signing despite the injury.PHILADELPHIA -- As word spread through NBA inner circles that Kansas prospect Joel Embiid suffered a foot injury, the Philadelphia 76ers wondered if his misfortune was just the break the downtrodden franchise needed. "I sniffed opportunity," Sam Hinkie, the teams president and general manager, said Friday. "The moment he got hurt, we thought we might get him. We might be just the organization with just the set of owners, and we might be the one to do it." When the 7-foot centre was available at three, the Sixers pounced, even though he could miss up to a full season because of a broken foot. The 76ers are used to big men sitting out the season. Former All-Star centre Andrew Bynum never played a second because of bad knees in 2012-13. And rookie Nerlens Noel sat out all of last season because of a torn ACL. Noel, the No. 6 overall pick out of Kentucky, was antsy to play toward the end of a 19-63 season. The Sixers refused to rush him, not wanting to risk additional injury in what was always planned as a lost -- or, tanked -- season. Embiid recovery from a stress fracture in his right foot could take five to eight months. So will the Sixers play him in another season where the Sixers are building again toward a high lottery pick instead of a post-season berth? "Guess what our approach will be," Hinkie said, smiling. "Well focus on the long-term health of the player." Embiid wont be Philadelphias only lottery pick sitting out next season. Croatian forward Dario Saric, the 10th overall pick, signed a three-year deal last week to play in Turkey. The Sixers hold the rights to the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder for the next three years, and it could be that long until he plays for Philly. By the time hes set to join the Sixers, the organization hoped a playoff berth would be within reach. Hinkie said the Noel-Embiid frontcourt will be a "menace" at the rim. Coach Brett Brown was already drawing up plays for the duo -- Xs and Os hell have plenty of time to perfect. "I do think that Joel and Nerlens can co-exist," Brown said. "I think I can find a way to play those two guys together. Its a really good problem to have. Jordan Martinook Jersey. " Hinkie credited Philly fans for their "patience and understanding" for another lean season where the best outcome would be a No. 1 draft pick and not a seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Outside of rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams and veteran forward Thaddeus Young, the Sixers have few other credible players, and will likely stack the roster again with D-League castoffs and 10-day contract stopgaps. "Its not even close to demoralizing," Brown said. Brown tried his best at an optimistic spin on the seasons ahead. Knowing the security of three more years left on his contract makes it easier to wait for a project like Embiid. The versatile 7-foot Embiid had a fantastic freshman season with the Jayhawks, averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds while blocking 72 shots to earn Big 12 defensive player of the year honours. Embiid, who grew up playing soccer and volleyball, only decided to pursue basketball a few years ago. He started to blossom as a senior at The Rock School and ultimately chose to attend Kansas, where he arrived with less fanfare than fellow freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden. Embiid hurt his back while landing awkwardly during a game late in the season, and missed the Jayhawks final two regular-season games and the Big 12 tournament. He also missed a victory over Eastern Kentucky and a season-ending loss to Stanford in the NCAA tournament, after which he said that he would have been able to play had Kansas advanced to the second weekend. Hinkie said the Sixers consulted various doctors and felt confident there was little long-term risk to his health once the foot healed. Embiid was projected as Clevelands No. 1 overall pick before the draft. The honour went to Wiggins. "In this scenario, and only this scenario, does he fall to three," Hinkie said. "If he can remain healthy, he can have a fantastic, fantastic NBA career." Notes: 76ers G Jason Richardson exercised the $6.6 million player option for next season and will return. The 7-foot C Byron Mullens declined his $1.1 million option and will become a free agent. 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