The NBPA disclaimed interest in representing the union. The association no longer represents the union and is a mere trade association. This move was to open the door for the antitrust lawsuits that are being filed in Minnesota and Oakland, Calif., late Tuesday and early Wednesday. The thought of all this being that going to court and the threat of triple damages will create movement at the bargaining negotiating table.
The tenor of these negotiations has changed.
So some levity should keep everyone happy before everything hits the fan in court. The NBPA, since it kind of no longer exists, took their Web site down and replaced it with this:
It is terse and it is the truth. Really does not help us get anywhere, but we appreciate the comedic gesture. The above is not a doctoring or something created. Go to NBPA.org and see for yourself. This is the final message the NBPA gave to the world before officially disappearing from the basketball world.
There are still disputes over whether the decision to disclaim interest was actually unanimous. Several players have vented frustration over the whole process the union took in keeping several members in the dark on progress. That is no more as the matter is completely with the courts now.
The antitrust lawsuit will make things even more disorganized than they were before. There is no unifying body for complaints or suggestions to go through. There is just the lawsuits now. The union obviously no longer exists.
Still, one thing that still does not sit well with many members of the organization formerly known as the NBPA is the lack of involvement from the rank and file members in the decision to disclaim interest and the bargaining process in general.
While union attorney Jeff Kessler said no union consults its members before acting and that the way the union put the decision to the 30 player representatives rather than the full membership is normal operating procedure for every other union, the players still felt left out of the process.
They should feel even more left out now possibly… seeing as they no longer have that voice, vote or union representative to talk to. There are a lot of contradictions about unions that do not exist anymore. There is no need to be unified anymore to gain leverage like they would have to if the union still existed.
There is a lot of uncertainty right now as to what happens next. Like the NBPA’s Web site, everything is blank and uncertain right now.
