NBA files two actions against players

A day after commissioner David Stern publicly questioned whether the players were negotiating in good faith, the NBA filed two claims against the Players Association Tuesday.

The first claim was an unfair labor practice charge before the National Labor Relations Board. It accuses the players of making "unlawful'' threats to break up their union and pursue an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA, a strategy used this year by NFL players to fight their lockout.

The second claim was a lawsuit in federal district court in New York. It asks the court to declare that the NBA lockout does not violate antitrust laws.

Stern told The Associated Press in a phone interview that an unproductive meeting Monday with union executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher and others confirmed to the league it needed to take this action.

"There doesn't seem to be a seriousness of purpose to the players and we keep reading about they're considering decertification, and the agents are meeting with Billy to talk about decertification,'' Stern said.

Hunter released a statement, saying the league's actions are without merit.

"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," he said.

Hunter urged the league to engage with the union "at the bargaining table and to use more productively the short time we have left before the 2011-12 season is seriously jeopardized."

The two sides met for three hours Monday in midtown Manhattan. The meeting was the first substantial one between the sides since the NBA declared a lockout July 1. No further meetings have been scheduled.

With Barbara Barker