(Reuters) – U.S. basketball players filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the National Basketball Association (NBA) yesterday alleging antitrust violations, casting further doubt over the fate of the entire 2011-12 season.
The legal move had been expected after the players’ association this week said it would no longer continue in collective bargaining and will become a trade association in order to pursue legal action.
The NBA has already canceled the first month of a regular season that was scheduled to begin two weeks ago. A representative for the NBA could not immediately be reached on Tuesday.
The NBA, which claims it lost $300 million last season with 22 of its 30 teams in the red, locked out its players on July 1 given a disagreement over two major issues — the division of basketball-related income and salary cap structure.
The latest offer by the NBA — rejected by the players — called for a 50-50 split of basketball related income between the owners and players and would have provided for a 72-game season to start on Dec. 15.
Players, who received 57 percent of basketball income in the previous contract, also are at odds with the owners over rules governing contracts and free agency.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Northern California on Tuesday, was brought on behalf of named plaintiffs are Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Leon Powe, according to the suit. The suit seeks to represent NBA players and other prospective professionals.
Defendants include the league and its 30 member teams.
“Rather than competing for the players’ services,” the lawsuit said, “defendants have combined and conspired to eliminate such competition among themselves for NBA players through group boycotts, concerted refusals to deal, and agreements on restricting output and fixing prices.”
The lawsuit seeks triple damages as a result of the antitrust violations.
A shift from the negotiating room to the courts also came during this year’s National Football League labor dispute, but NFL owners and players were able to reach an agreement before their season began and did not lose any regular season games.