The National Basketball Association locked out its players late this week, in a labor dispute that could wipe out part or all of the 2011-2012 season. The owners want to impose a tougher salary cap, shorter contracts, and guarantee themselves a greater share of the league's income, while players want to protect benefits they had under the old agreement. Which side is really to blame here?
The lockout is the owners' fault: The league pulled in a record $4.3 billion last year, says Dave Zirin at The New Yorker. If the owners can't squeeze profits out of a windfall like that, they have only themselves to blame. One reason they're in this fix is that they signed "bad contracts," forcing them to shell out millions for players who never earned their keep. If the teams just practiced "the very self-discipline that the league preaches to its players," the lockout never would have happened.
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