Academic

I haven't been following this story very closely, and got up to speed via WSJ Law Blog, which itself got the skinny from my friend and "sports law guru" Michael McCann (Vermont).  A taste:

What is decertification and why did the union need to do it prior to filing suit?

Decertification simply refers to the act of disbanding the union by the union members, i.e, the players. McCann explained to us that the former collective-bargaining agreement included a stipulation that said that the union couldn?t file an antitrust suit against the league. So the union had to disband in order to sue.

The owners have since then claimed that the decertification move was bogus. What?s that about and how will that be resolved?

McCann explained that a move to decertify a union has to be approved by the National Labor Relations Board. In this story, the WSJ?s Matthew Futterman explains that he owners amended a complaint they filed with the NLRB  in February, in which they claimed the players union wasn?t bargaining in good faith. The amended complaint alleges that the decertification is a sham.

The players union denies that and said a settlement in a previous lawsuit with the NFL prohibits the league from opposing the decertification.

The NLRB must conduct an investigation into the matter before deciding whether to file a complaint on behalf of the NFL with an administrative law judge, whose decision could take six months.

In the meantime, what does the antitrust lawsuit look like? And why do the players? grievances fall under the umbrella of antitrust law?

Well, first things first. The league really operates as a classic cartel ? 32 individual entities working in concert with one another. (It?s a view of the NFL that was largely supported by the U.S. Supreme Court in the American Needle case.) The lawsuit challenges the amateur draft, salary cap, free agency restrictions and other elements of the current structure as violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

McCann explains that the structure was exempt from antitrust challenge under the old collective-bargaining agreement, but that now the CBA has expired, the exemption no longer applies.