NBA Lockout: NBA Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge Against NBA Players Association

Things may have just gotten ugly in the NBA lockout. One day after commissioner David Stern accused the NBA Players Association of not negotiating in good faith, the league has filed an unfair labor practices charge against the NBPA, according to a league press release.

The league actually filed two lawsuits in this case. One is an unfair labor practice charge to the National Labor Relations Board, and the other is a lawsuit in federal district court in New York, where the league offices are located. The claim suggests that the players were planning a "sham" decertification, and therefore were not bargaining in good faith. Via the press release.

The federal lawsuit seeks to establish, among other things, that the NBA's lockout does not violate federal antitrust laws and that if the Players Association's "decertification" were found to be lawful, all existing player contracts would become void and unenforceable.

The NBPA has its own unfair labor practices claim out to the NLRB that could eventually lead to an injunction lifting the lockout. With the NBA filing its own claim, it looks like this thing could drag on for a long time.