Sports Radio Service


		2011-12 NBA season hangs in the balance By Joseph Hawkes-Beamon November 4, 2011

	New York – With the entire 2011-12 NBA season on the brink of cancellation, the union and the owners are scheduled to meet Saturday with the hope of saving the season. About 50 players held two conference calls this week to discuss decertification because they are unhappy with negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. According to some labor law and antitrust experts, a vote to dissolve the union could destroy hopes for even a shortened season. If the union decides to disband, the disbandment could switch the negotiating leverage to the players, antitrust attorney David Scupp said Friday. But he added that taking the fight to court through an antitrust lawsuit also would make it difficult to resolve the matter in time to have a season. “Once you get the courts involved and you end the collective bargaining process, it does slow things down and it does make it a little bit more complicated,” said Scupp, who works at New York-based law firm Constantine Cannon. Decertification talk began to brew earlier this week amid reports that union president Derek Fisher and executive director Billy Hunter were not on the same page, with Hunter allegedly questioning Fisher’s relationship with NBA commissioner David Stern and NBA deputy commissioner, Adam Silver. The union spent most of Thursday trying to project a united front even as that group of players worked behind the scenes to build momentum to eliminate the union. The owners also show signs of not being on the same page. Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison was fined last week for hinting on Twitter that he was ready to get a deal done while several smaller-market owners are said to be holding out for more concessions from the players. The owners are scheduled to meet Saturday before resuming negotiations to affirm their bargaining position, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting. At issue from the beginning has been the division of about $4 billion in basketball-related income, along with a system makeover that Commissioner David Stern insists must happen to fix what he considers a broken economic model. The players have offered to reduce their share of revenue from 57 percent to 52.5 percent, a concession they feel is more than enough to cover their end of the league’s stated $300 million in annual losses. Owners have offered a 50-50 split, along with significant changes to the system that include a more punitive luxury tax on teams that exceed the salary cap, shorter contracts and a lower mid-level exception. That 50-50 split is unacceptable to the players, as well as some owners. NBA players need 30 percent of their membership to sign a petition saying they no longer wish to be represented by a union, which would be submitted for approval to the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB then would conduct a vote, which would require 226 players to approve the decertification. If players do go forward with decertification, their chances of success in the courtroom could be harmed by the NFLPA’s experience there this summer. A federal judge in St. Paul, Minn., initially ruled that the NFL union’s antitrust case had merit and issued an injunction that forced the league to lift the lockout. But that ruling was overturned on appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court in St. Louis, and the two sides came to agreement on a new deal in July after losing only one preseason game. “Given what happened over the summer with the NFL players, the NBA players have an uphill battle toward getting the lockout (lifted),” Scupp said. The NBA already has filed a lawsuit seeking to retain their antitrust exemption even if the players dissolve the union. Federal Judge Paul Gardephe did not immediately issue a ruling when the two sides met in court this week. “This particular collective bargaining agreement will forever impact the circumstances of NBA basketball players,” Hunter said earlier this week. “We can’t rush into a deal we feel is a bad deal just to save this season.” Message to the players and owners: Get a deal done! Not only is basketball games are being missed, but there are a lot of arena concession workers, security officers and ushers who depend on a 41 home game schedule out of work. So the players and owners can bicker over how to divide $4 billion in basketball-related income until they are blue in the face but remember this: if the entire 2011-12 NBA season is cancelled and a deal is not reached until the summer, fans may not be so quick to welcome back basketball with open arms. Just ask Major League Baseball how long did it take for fans to come back after the players’ strike of 1994.