The request, by a group of England Basketball members, for an Emergency General Meeting, has been declared invalid by the Association. A letter sent to member clubs explains "... after verifying the photocopied requisitions received to date, pursuant to sections 303 and 368 of the Companies Act 1985, as of today the required one-tenth support from members having a right to vote at general meetings, required for the directors to convene an EGM, has not been achieved. Many of the notices received were invalid for a number of differing reasons. Thus an EGM will not be convened." Instead, the Directors have called a discussion meeting with member Clubs and Associations, to provide "... the opportunity to ask questions and obtain answers regarding the situation that has arisen." This meeting, on Saturday 3rd June, has been called "... in the hope that ... concerns can be laid to rest" Since news of the request for an EGM became public, I've managed to glean a little more information about the background to the dispute, amd I'm afraid that laying concerns to rest appears a remote possibility. It seems that the origin of the affair is a dispute between a member of the Board of EB and a member club of the BBL. However, in view of the fact that there already appear to have been a number of writs alleging libel and defamation of character flying back and forth, it would seem wise for me not to go into details here! However, it's safe to say that the personal dispute has escalated into one involving the BBL clubs as a whole (adhering to their basic principle of collective support) and the EB Board. The resignation of three Directors from the Board earlier this year is believed to have been precipitated by this dispute, when, I understand, divisions occurred over how to handle the matter. Whether the meeting in June will clear the air, or will result in increasingly entrenched positions, remains to be seen. Having been around long enough to remember (and even, occasionally, be involved in) earlier disputes, such as that which originally led to the setting up of the BBL as a separate organisation, I'm not overly optimistic.
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