NBA players file suit in Oakland
BAY AREA - Carmelo Anthony is one of four players -- represented by David Boies -- who has filed suit in Oakland against the NBA and its 30 teams...
From NBC BAY AREA:
The U.S. District Court in Oakland is at least for now one of several battlegrounds in the dispute between the National Basketball Association and locked-out players.
One of two antitrust lawsuits filed Tuesday against the NBA and its 30 teams was lodged in the Oakland federal court by attorney David Boies on behalf of four players, including Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and free agent Leon Powe of Oakland, who signed a contract in March with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Four other players filed a similar lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota. The lawsuits claim the lockout, which began July 1, is an illegal boycott and that the teams conspired to fix prices in player contracts in violation of antitrust lawsuit.
Under antitrust law, the lawsuits seek compensation of triple the amount of salary lost by the players this season. The suits seek to be certified as class actions.
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The Oakland lawsuit claims, “The express purpose of defendants’ group boycott and price fixing is to reduce the salaries, terms, benefits and conditions available in the market for players.” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said, “It’s a shame the players have chosen to litigate rather than negotiate.”
The suits came after the National Basketball Players Association disbanded as a union and transformed itself into a trade association, thus ending collective bargaining attempts and enabling the players to challenge the lockout under antitrust law as individual employees.
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