Johnson Will Take Clippers to Arbitration

Sam Meyerhoff, the attorney for injured Clipper star Marques Johnson, said that Johnson plans to go ahead with arbitration against the team to settle a contract dispute.

The Clippers have been trying to settle the issue without going to arbitration.

“There have been some settlement talks, but I can’t get a handle on where (the Clippers) are coming from,” Meyerhoff said.

Johnson and the Clippers are still waiting for the hearing to be scheduled.

The Clippers stopped paying Johnson last month, claiming that he was permanently disabled as a result of a collision with teammate Benoit Benjamin in a game last Nov. 20.

Johnson was scheduled to have neck surgery last Friday, but postponed it so that he could testify against the Clippers. Johnson said he would reschedule the surgery after the hearing.