Fallout from fight may further hinder labor talks

NEW YORK — One of the byproducts of last weekend's NBA brawl could be a poisoned atmosphere in collective bargaining talks.

At a time when they should be negotiating a new labor agreement, lawyers for the NBA and the players' union are about to fight a side battle — an appeal of the lengthy suspensions given to Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal — that could exacerbate an already contentious relationship.

Just six years ago, the league and union went through a lengthy lockout that forced cancellation of nearly half of the 1998-99 season.

That was a low point, and nearly all the principal players from that battle — starting with NBA commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter and including most of the staff attorneys — still hold the same jobs.

"This is a relationship that's dysfunctional at best. The well is already so poisoned, it would be difficult to poison it even more," said Robert Lanza, a labor attorney who was the lead in-house counsel for the Players Association during the 1998-99 lockout. "A lot of issues that should be dealt with as a team are not dealt with that way."

The union's attorneys asked Tuesday that an arbitrator review the suspensions Stern handed out to Artest (the rest of the season), Jackson (30 games) and O'Neal (25 games) for brawling with fans at Friday night's Pacers-Pistons game.

Sole discretion in deciding punishment for on-court behavior rests with the commissioner, who also is the only avenue of appeal.

The union wants to maneuver around that rule, which is in the collective bargaining agreement, by trying to send the case to an arbitrator, Roger Kaplan, who was relieved of his duties two months ago when the owners declined to renew his term.

The league and the union have not agreed on a replacement for Kaplan, the emergency grievance arbitrator until his successor is named.

"I don't know what involvement, if any, I'll have with his case," Kaplan said Wednesday, declining further comment.

If recent history provides a guide, Kaplan could be the emergency arbitrator for quite some time. The post of systems arbitrator, to resolve salary cap-related disputes, has been vacant since Kenneth Dam left in 2001, because the sides haven't agreed on a replacement.