Decertification of Players' Associations

            With the success of the NFLPA decertification, will the NBAPA do the same? On March 11, 2011, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) existence came to a halt. In a move that hasn’t been seen since 1989, in which the NFLPA dissolved to file individual antitrust suits against the NFL, the decertification of the NFLPA sent a message to team owners saying, “We mean business.” The decertification allowed individual players to take their chances in Federal court in antitrust lawsuits. Ten players, with such big names to include Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees, sued NFL team owners in a class-action claim and sought to block a lockout even before a one had occurred. One of the reasons for decertification was to have each individual team release it’s financial records. In an article written by Sam Farmer, ofthe Los Angles Times, he says, “The players argue that if they’re being asked to give more money back to the owners, they should be privy to the books.” Although ultimately the decertification ended up working in the players’ favor, the National Basketball Association is looking to take away decertification as a tool to be used by the NBAPA.

            On August 2, 2011, Commissioner David Stern filed a lawsuit against the NBAPA in attempt to take away decertification as an option. With this move, David Stern is seeking the high ground in advance of the NBAPA threat to decertify. In an article written by Skip Oliva he states, “In virtually every collective bargaining negotiation since 1970, the players have commenced or have threatened to commence antitrust litigation as a tactic to pressure the NBA to accede to the Union’s bargaining demands.”  The reason for this move is to keep the players obligated to collectively bargain with the league, instead of on an individual basis. The difference between the NFL and NBA CBA disputes is that the NFL players knew before certifying that the team owners were not irrational enough to forgo a season, with the NBA, team owners are willing to stop burning cash on their losing investment.