Basketball Players Reject Latest Contract Offer, Plan To Decertify Union Season Uncertain

The Basketball’s locked-out players rejected the league’s latest offer for just about any new collective settling agreement today, with union executive director Billy Hunter calling the recommended deal “extremely unfair.” He mentioned the players’ association is beginning the whole process of disbanding the union — step one in filing an antitrust action in the league and delivering the whole mess for the courts. It’s the identical tactic the Nfl’s players used in their lockout inside the summer season, but this time around round the move could jeopardize the entire Basketball season already, the league had cut 10 games within the normal season in the modified schedule since the two sides remain far apart in contract talks. What this means is a sizable hit on ad revenue for ABC/ESPN, TNT/Turner and regional sports systems that hold lucrative TV rights to games. Commissioner David Stern had referred to as newest labor supply the league’s best, recommending a 50-50 split in revenue between players and entrepreneurs. He mentioned the next offer available will probably be a more compact amount favorable: a 53-47 split meant for the league.