FanShot

NBA takes legal action against locked-out players

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"The NBA filed two claims against the NBAPA on Tuesday— an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board and a lawsuit in federal district court in New York. The NBA accused the players of being uncooperative in negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement by making "more than two dozen" threats to dissolve their union and sue the league under antitrust laws to secure more favorable terms in a new CBA" The NBA’s lawsuit is essentially preventative legal medicine. It seeks a declaration from the court that the lockout does not violate antitrust laws, in case the union breaks up to file an antitrust lawsuit. It also cites legal backing for the lockout itself, invoking Depression-era legislation known as the Norris-LaGuardia Act designed to prevent court intervention in a labor dispute. Finally, the league’s lawsuit also makes an attempt to secure support for massive salary reform should the union dissolve. The NBA asked the court to declare that such a decertification would in turn void all existing player contracts because they’re guided by the union’s involvement in the old CBA. Without a union and a collective bargaining relationship, the league argued, the terms and conditions of those previously negotiated contracts would not apply.