NBPA to file an appeal for dismissal of the lawsuit against them – NBA Update
The National Basketball Players Association will file an appeal for the outright dismissal of the charges brought against it by NBA. The leading legal counsel for the NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler, had previously called the case as holding
“no merit”.
The league has a different view though.
“These claims were filed in an effort to eliminate the use of impermissible pressure tactics by the union which are impeding the parties’ ability to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner
and Chief Operating Officer Adam Silver in a statement. “For the parties to reach agreement on a new CBA, the union must commit to the collective bargaining process fully and in good faith.”
However analysts believe that rather than being a counter measure against the NBPA, the lawsuit brought by the NBA is actually a pressure tactic itself. In the suit, the true intentions of the NBA administrations are revealed as
it seeks for the court to rule that the player’s cannot file anti-trust lawsuits against the league, in case the union decertifies.
The union has now made up its mind to seek an immediate dismissal, which is not at all an unexpected move. However what comes after that could be interesting.
The NBA and David Stern made a pre-emptive strike with the lawsuit. While the players union has been urged by most, including their legal team and prominent player agents, to decertify and bring the league to court, they have so
far resisted that move.
Billy Hunter, executive director of the union, has persisted with his stance of wanting to end the issue through negotiation. However, David Stern took advantage of the player’s good faith to file the lawsuit first.
Such a move ought to have been expected of Stern and the new greedy group of owners that are driving the tussle towards a point of no return, a scenario that will result in the loss of the complete 2011-2012 NBA season.
The NBPA can surely no longer keep resisting the calls to decertify and sue the league. However Stern made the shrewd choice of filing the suit in New York, where the NBA has a history of success against the NBPA.
A New York court has previously ruled in favour of the NBA when the players union filed to get the college Draft and the salary cap abolished. Still the dispute at hand this time is very different. The league is seeking to completely
change the financial landscape of the basketball world and is determined to make it as profitable as it can for the owners.
The legal wrangle that the NBA has begun could end up costing them.
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