Peachtree Hoops: NBA Lockout: NBA Counters Player's Association Suit With Unfair Labor Charge Of Their Own

[Hawksquawk]

The NBA fired a counter measure strike against the Player's Association by filing its own unfair labor practices charge to the National Labor Relations Board. The NBA claims that the player's association was planning a "sham" decertification and were not bargaining in good faith. 

If you aren't keeping up, the Player's Association has its own unfair labor practices claim to the NLRB and that is one of the big reasons that the possibility of decertification hasn't been discussed more. The Union was waiting for a ruling that could have effectively ended the lockout with an injunction. However, now that the NBA has filed its own suit, it doesn't appear that this thing will be getting sorted out anytime soon. 

SB Nation's Mike Prada writes that the timing for the NBA's suit is all about gaining the upper hand in the courts. The NBA actually filed two suits today. One to the NLRB and another in Federal District Court in New York where the NBA's offices are located. Prada writes that this move essentially lets the NBA select where the court battle will be played out and they have chosen a court that has been favorable to the league in the past. 

The answer, according to many, is that this gives the league the upper hand in a potential showdown in courts. Those that follow this issue closely suggest that the important move the NBA made on Tuesday is in its second suit, filed in a federal district court in New York. The suit was filed in the Second Circut, which has been favorable to owners in the past.

Not surprisingly the Player's Association wasted little time in responding to the lawsuit.

"The litigation tactics of the NBA today are just another example of their bad faith bargaining and we will seek the complete dismissal of the actions as they are totally without merit," said Hunter in a statement. "The NBA Players Association has not made any decision to disclaim its role as the collective bargaining representative of the players and has been engaged in good faith bargaining with the NBA for over two years. We urge the NBA to engage with us at the bargaining table and to use more productively the short time we have left before the 2011-12 season is seriously jeopardized."

This just serves as a reminder that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. 

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