NBA Players Sue League as More Games Cancelled
As another fortnight of games disappeared from the NBA calendar on Tuesday, NBA players filed anti-trust lawsuits against the league saying the lockout denied them their right to work.
As of Tuesday evening, NBA.com's schedule for the 2011-2012 season showed the first games set for December 15 -- representing two more weeks of cancelled contests after the labor dispute wiped out all scheduled match-ups in November.
ESPN reported that teams were formally notified of the cancellations by the league on Tuesday.
The move was expected after players on Monday rejected the owners' latest proposal for a deal and instead opted to dissolve their union and pursue legal action against the NBA.
The players are seeking "treble damages" -- three times the amount of the more than $2 billion they would have made in a full 2011-12 season.
They argue they are suffering irreparable harm by being denied a chance to work in their "very short" NBA careers.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver, Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon, free agent forward Caron Butler and Derrick Williams -- drafted by the Timberwolves in June but yet to sign a contract -- were listed as plaintiffs in the Minnesota case.
The plaintiffs claim that the lockout of players by owners that began on July 1 "constitutes an illegal group boycott, price-fixing agreement, and/or restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Act" and that the owners' last take-it-or-leave-it contract proposal would have "wiped out the competitive market for most NBA players."
Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups of the New York Knicks and NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City were among the plaintiffs in the California case.
That suit claims that in 2007, Stern met with union negotiators and demanded the players reduce their revenue share from 57 percent to no more than 50 percent and "insisted on a much more restrictive salary cap, which would restrict the market for player services."
According to the lawsuit, Stern threatened even then that the NBA was "prepared to lock out the players for two years to get everything" owners wanted.
David Boies, a lawyer who represented the NFL during that league's work stoppage, said Stern's ultimatum that the now-dissolved players' union accept the owners' last proposal or face harsher contract terms "turned out to be a mistake."
"They did a terrific job of taking a very hard line and pushing the players to make concession after concession after concession, but greed is not only a terrible thing -- it's a dangerous thing."
Boies acknowledged that legal action could take months to resolve.
"We haven't seen Mr. Boies' complaint yet, but it's a shame that the players have chosen to litigate instead of negotiate," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in a statement.
Owners and players have been unable to agree on several financial issues, including the division of some $4 billion in annual revenue.
Players received 57 percent of basketball-related income under the previous contract. The owners had offered a 50-50 split, but Stern has said that any future offers would be less favorable to players and that owners would also seek a hard ceiling to the salary cap as well as salary rollbacks.
Billionaire owners say such changes are needed because 22 of 30 clubs lost money last season. The players' decision to leave the bargaining table and head to court further threatened the season, Stern said.
"The NBA has negotiated in good faith throughout the collective bargaining process," Stern said in a statement on Monday. "There will ultimately be a new collective bargaining agreement, but the 2011-12 season is now in jeopardy."
Boies also said players had tried to settle the issues at the bargaining table.
"You can't negotiate by yourself," he said. "You can only negotiate if you've got somebody who's willing to sit down and negotiate with you."
