In the American economy, capitalism is at the root of every major market; markets such as the textiles, healthcare, utilities, and sports entertainment. Professional basketball is a huge industry in the United States that many corporations and sports-lovers spend money on to watch and endorse.
Devastating to many of the fans, the National Basketball Association (NBA) went into a lockout in 2011 because of the many economic issues that the league had been experiencing in the previous years. During a lockout, players cannot play, teams are not allowed to trade, sign or contact players, and many players do not get paid and cannot access NBA team facilities or staff. The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth lockout in NBA history. The 2011 lockout started on July 1, 2011, and ended December 8, 2011, delaying the start of the NBA season by almost two months. Although many critics would argue that the 2011 NBA lockout was caused by the team owners’ greed and the professional players’ unwillingness to compromise, the main and most unbiased causes of the 2011 lockout were the expiration of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that was set in 2005 and the great recession of 2007. Nonetheless, the team owners’ greed and the professional players’ reluctance to negotiate clashed and prolonged the NBA lockout period.
In order for one to clearly understand the causes of the 2011 NBA lockout, we must first identify the implications of previous CBA contracts and negotiations. The previous National Basketball Association lockout in 1998 reduced the 1998-1999 NBA season by 32 games, from 82 to 50. However, the owners and players eventually came to an agreement and a new six-year collective bargaining agreement was accepted. The six year co. . ons that it would have on the sport.
Given the financial hardships that the National Basketball Association was experiencing and the massive impact that the great recession had on the U. S. industries, it goes without say that the recession of 2007 changed the economics of the NBA and called for many financial reforms that would cause controversy among the team owners and the players; thus, leading to the NBA lockout of 2011. Works CitedJoshua.
“What Caused the NBA Lockout. ” Bettingbasketball. org. 11 Oct. 2011. Web.
16 Feb. 2012. Parlow, Matthew J. , “The NBA and The Great Recession: Implications For the Upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement Renegotiation.
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2012. Zegers, Charlie. “NBA Lockout 101: the issues, the arguments, and the NBA’s uncertain future. ” About. com. 2010.
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