James Jones named in NBA lawsuit vs. players

MIAMI— Miami Heat free-agent forward James Jones is one of 13 NBA players named as defendants in a class-action complaint for declaratory relief filed by the NBA in U.S. District Court in New York.

The action was one of two taken Tuesday by the league amid rancorous negotiations with the players' association during the NBA lockout.

James was among the players listed because of his role as secretary-treasurer of the National Basketball Players Association.

Of the action, the NBA said in a statement, "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 NBA also filed an unfair-labor-practice charge before the National Labor Relations Board, asserting that "the Players Association has failed to bargain in good faith."

"These claims," NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, "were filed in an effort to eliminate the use of impermissible pressure tactics by the union which are impeding the parties' ability to negotiate a new collective-bargaining agreement."

In response, Billy Hunter, executive director of the union, issued a statement that said, "The litigation tactics of the NBA today are just another example of their bad-faith bargaining and we will seek the complete dismissal of the actions as they are totally without merit."

For his part, Jones has consistently downplayed decertification as a bargaining option, referring to it only as a means of last resort.

The NBA regular season is scheduled to open Nov. 1, with training camps opening a month earlier, a schedule imperiled by the lack of a collective-bargaining agreement.


(sun-sentinel.com)