As the NBA enters its fifth month in lockout, rumors have begun to emerge that the National Basketball Player’s Association is considering decertifying the union to gain leverage over the league and the owners.
After decertifying a union, which involves a somewhat complicated process that leads to a vote among the players, the next step is to file an antitrust lawsuit against the National Basketball Association in federal court. This is similar what occurred during the National Football League’s lockout earlier this year.
If the negotiations scheduled for November 5 break down, as all previous negotiations have, a group of 50 players likely will work to dissolve the union, according to Yahoo Sports.
The New York Times reports that the players will also move to decertify if any agreement is reached in which the players will receive less than 52.5 percent of the BRI, or basketball-related income, or if the owners seek to further restrict players in the free agency market.
While decertifying the union would likely lead to a much more favorable agreement for the players, it also would almost certainly result in the cancellation of the entire season due to the time the decertification process would take.
Owners, until this point, have insisted on an even 50-50 split of the BRI. Prior to recent negotiations, players received 57 percent of the BRI generated each year.
The season would have already begun this past week. Games have officially been cancelled through November 30.
Fans continue to lament the loss of what looked to be a very promising season.
“I just think it’s really frustrating. Both sides have points, but I feel like the problem with everything is the management more than the system,” said Eric Morrow, a junior majoring in journalism.
“I’m not even a big basketball fan, but this year was shaping up to be really fun. With Lebron and the Heat, Durant and Westbrook out in Oklahoma City, and all these other young guys, it looked to be a great, great year for the NBA. Now…not so much,” said Mark Sanchez, a junior double-majoring in journalism and English.