The legal "power struggle" between the NBA and the NBPA
"moved into a federal appeals court" yesterday, where the union
sought to reverse a lower court ruling that found that the salary
cap, college draft and right of first refusal signing system "do
not violate antitrust law." The NBPA contends, after the
collective bargaining agreement (C.B.A.) expired June 24, the
three disputed policies "fell out of the jurisdiction" of federal
labor law and became provisions "restricting the free-market
opportunities of players from the day they are drafted to when
they retire." In July, the NBPA "failed to persuade" a U.S.
District Court that the end of the C.B.A. "extinguished its
collective bargaining relationship" with the NBA. After the
hearing, NBA Commissioner David Stern: "We expect to prevail in
this case. We've told the players we have to make a deal"
(Richard Sandomir, N.Y. TIMES, 9/23). The NBA will announce
today or early next week that the cap for the upcoming season is
$15.9M per team, not the anticipated $16.3M -- a 6% increase from
'93-94 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/23).
