Stern: NBA season in "jeopardy"

Today’s decision by the National Basketball Players Association to disband the union was an action that will take the NBA to the wrong court.

Here is NBA commissioner David Stern’s response:

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NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN STATEMENT

NEW YORK, November 14, 2011 — NBA Commissioner David Stern has issued
the following statement:

“At a bargaining session in February 2010, Jeffrey Kessler, counsel
for the union, threatened that the players would abandon the collective
bargaining process and start an antitrust lawsuit against our teams if they
did not get a bargaining resolution that was acceptable to them.

“In anticipation of this day, the NBA filed an unfair labor practice
charge before the National Labor Relations Board asserting that, by virtue
of its continued threats, the union was not bargaining in good faith. We
also began a litigation in federal court in anticipation of this same
bargaining tactic.

“The NBA has negotiated in good faith throughout the collective
bargaining process, but — because our revised bargaining proposal was not
to its liking — the union has decided to make good on Mr. Kessler’s threat.

“There will ultimately be a new collective bargaining agreement, but
the 2011-12 season is now in jeopardy.”