NBA Players Association to File Motion to Dismiss League Lawsuit

According to CBS Sports, the legal cat-and-mouse game between lawyers representing the NBA and its players is just beginning: “Officials from the National Basketball Players Association huddled Thursday and decided to file a motion to dismiss the NBA’s federal lawsuit, a move that likely will come in the next 7-10 days, sources told CBSSports.com. The decision is hardly stunning, considering attorney Jeffrey Kessler’s strident rejection of the basis for the league’s suit, which seeks declaratory judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that the lockout is legal. Also, the NBA is seeking protection on antitrust grounds from a possible decertification by the players (or disclaimer of interest to represent them by the union) and has proclaimed its intention to void all existing contracts if the NBPA dissolves. Kessler told CBSSports.com Tuesday the lawsuit has ‘no merit,’ and that he intends to use it as evidence of the league’s bad-faith bargaining in a separate charge pending before the National Labor Relations Board. Under intense pressure from prominent agents to decertify and file an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA, union chief Billy Hunter has resisted and instead pursued the case under federal labor law with the NLRB, which some legal experts believe could provide the clearest path to an injunction lifting the lockout. The agents shouldn’t hold their breath, as decertifying or disclaiming interest now now could impede the progress of the NLRB case, for which a ruling is expected in 30-60 days.”