By Mayar Zokaei
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]
More than two decades ago, John D. Younesi was a walk-on senior
on the UCLA baseball team with major league aspirations.
Today, he really is in a league of his own. Just not exactly the
way he envisioned it.
Instead of donning a baseball uniform and passing the summer
away on a baseball field, Younesi, who is a lawyer, finds himself
toiling the hot months away as president and CEO of the Dada Summer
Pro League, a summertime version of the NBA.
“I have always loved sports, and when I was able to get
involved as owner in this league, I was eager to do it,” said
Younesi, who celebrates his 10th year as owner of the SPL.
Younesi grew up in Queens, N.Y., and always expressed a strong
interest in sports. His penchant for athletics reached its pinnacle
while Younesi was at UCLA, where a fielding mishap on the baseball
diamond nearly destroyed his nose and prompted reconstructive
surgery, which helped but left Younesi with respiratory problems
that still persist.
“My nose looked like it had absorbed a (Mike) Tyson left
hook,” Younesi explained. “To this day, I can’t
breathe properly through it.”
If any notion of giving up his studies had entered his mind, it
was quickly pushed away by the mettle and persistence instituted in
John by his father, Jack Younesi, who passed away last October.
Jack Younesi, a self-described product of World War II,
expatriated from his native Iran to New York more than 50 years
ago. Possessing a strong hold of the English language proved an
invaluable attribute in helping Younesi assimilate into the new
culture and attain a degree in economics.
“The business acumen, street smarts, diversity and
anything I else I possess, I acquired from my dad,” John
Younesi said. “But people that you love never completely
leave you, and the part that stays with you shares in life as you
live it.”
Younesi always harbored strong oratory and persuasion skills,
and he had always maintained an interest in law. He pursued his
studies and attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, eventually
completing his academic career as a top student in his class and
garnering a post in the law firm of John Anderson, the namesake of
the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.
A career as a litigator that has now spanned 18 years, was
brushed by the hand of fate in 1992 when Younesi met Larry Creger,
a former college basketball coach who needed representation in a
lawsuit. Creger owned the SPL, which has been around since
1970.
Younesi helped Creger stake a $60,000 settlement and eventually
bought the league from Creger in 1993 for $80,000. The SPL, with
Younesi at the helm, has blossomed into the most prominent type of
league in the world and reportedly a seven-figure investment.
What makes the league appealing to so many fans is the
accessibility and prices.
“We appreciate basketball in its purest form, and though
it’s a business, we didn’t want to develop it in a way
to bar the fans to enjoy the experience,” Younesi said.
“For $10 a day, you can make a whole day out of it, watch
five games, sit next to Jerry West, Mark Cuban or Danny
Ainge.”
The SPL has served as a foundation for many players and has also
provided a platform for players, league directors and referees to
hone their respective skills in hopes of advancing their
careers.
The league is divided into 24 teams, including 12 agent teams
and 4 teams comprised of players selected in the tryouts. Creger,
who still serves as executive director of the league, sees the
tryout process as a good forum for players to display their skills
and possibly garner lucrative contracts from teams overseas. It
also serves as a reality check for others.
“We not only do a great service for the players that do
make it, but also the ones that don’t,” Creger said.
“Some of these guys realize that the competition is higher
than they would have expected, and after this league, they go out
into the real world and realize that they might have to go a
different direction.”
Younesi believes that about 800 NBA players have played their
first professional basketball game in the SPL, including the likes
of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and former Bruin Baron Davis.
The NBA hasn’t been exactly conducive to the SPL’s
longevity. A deal that Younesi had brokered with UPN to televise
SPL games was nixed by NBA commissioner David Stern, who feared
that featuring NBA stars in television in the summer would hinder
the progression of the WNBA, which runs in the summer. The NBA also
helps back other summer leagues in Utah and Boston, which provide
competition for the SPL.
Despite these and myriad other setbacks, the league subsists on
revenue generated from league sponsors, such as footwear and
clothier Dada, who outfits most of the teams.
While the league previously journeyed between such venues as Cal
State L.A. and Dominguez Hills, Loyola Marymount, and others, it
seems to have found a home on the Long Beach State campus at the
Pyramid Sports Complex.
“It’s not a huge multi-million dollar venture, but
it’s going to develop further,” Younesi said. “I
have always wanted sports to be a part of my life, and this will
hopefully be something that I can help grow.”
The SPL season began with tryouts on June 30th.
“Players can show their mental capacity and athleticism,
and maybe earn a chance to play,” Jerry Clark, an SPL advisor
and scout said.
Games began Sunday and will run through July 21. Eight NBA clubs
are fielding teams in the league this year, while countless other
NBA players, including Penny Hardaway and Earl Watson, will play
for teams formed by their agents. Several of this year’s top
rookies, including Drew Gooden, Kareem Rush, Amare Stoudemire,
Caron Butler and Mike Dunleavy Jr. are also expected to
participate.
One of the early highlights of the season was Sunday’s
matchup between the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.
“For the first time ever, Jerry West, who has been
associated with the Lakers for over 43 years, is on the other
side,” Younesi said. “And in this league is the first
time that it happened.”
Tickets for the SPL are available through Ticketmaster.