By Dakoda Smith, Copy Editor
The 137-day lockout continues after the collective bargaining process has “completely broken down,” said Billy Hunter, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.
“The players feel they’re not prepared to accept any ultimatum,” he said. “We have negotiated in good faith for over two years, but the players just felt they have given enough, that the NBA was not prepared to negotiate, that things were not going to get better.”
Hunter said there is now a “high probability” that a 2011-2012 season will not happen.
“The proposal made by the NBA was regressive,” he said.
NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league planned to return to the 53-47 percentage split for profits from their proposed 50-50 split, but at Monday’s meeting the player representatives for the 30 teams unanimously voted to not accept the deal.
“I think the chance of the season slipping away from us, and the players losing all they have worked very hard to achieve, it’s really a tragedy,” he said.
To read a detailed breakdown of the financial negotiations, visit USA Today.
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