Basketball: Players officially re-form NBPA

NEW YORK: National Basketball Association (NBA) players have officially re-formed their union, paving the way for final approval of a deal to end the lockout and launch a shortened basketball season later this month. More than 300 players agreed to re-appoint the National Basketball Players Association as their official union, easily surpassing the 260 signatures required. “This is good news and completes another step in the process of finalising our agreement,” said NBA spokesperson Tim Frank. The move paves the way for negotiations with the owners to resume concerning some still unresolved issues in the collective bargaining agreement, including an anti-drug agreement and other contract issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.