The NBA canceled games through Dec. 15, "wiping out what would have been the first six weeks of the season." The league "still hasn't canceled its treasured Dec. 25 slate of games, though it doesn't look promising" (L.A. TIMES, 11/16).
The NBPA yesterday filed an antitrust suit against the NBA that "demands an end to what they contend is an illegal boycott of the work force." They are seeking "monetary damages for lost wages, which would be tripled under antitrust law." Resolution of the suit "could take months or years, but the immediate goal is to push NBA owners back to the bargaining table and salvage some part" of the '11-12 season. NBPA attorney David Boies said, "I hope it is not necessary to litigate this all the way" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/16).
Meanwhile, Boies said NBA Commissioner David Stern's ultimatum on a new labor deal "turned out to be a mistake." Boies: "If you're in a poker game and you run a bluff and the bluff works, you're a hero. If somebody calls your bluff, you lose. I think the owners overplayed their hand" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/16).
