Players stick together in labor fight

NBA players will remain unified and calm in what could be a lengthy pursuit of a labor agreement, union president Derek Fisher vowed Thursday.

About 40 players got an update on collective bargaining talks from Fisher and executive director Billy Hunter in what Fisher described as ''a very colorful and engaging meeting'' at a casino. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith also spoke to the players, who were mostly in town to play in an Impact Basketball academy league.

''There is not the fracture and the separation amongst our group that in some ways has been reported,'' said Fisher, the Los Angeles Lakers point guard. ''We just want to continue to reiterate that point.''

The players echoed their leaders' stance, promising they won't allow the union to splinter when the players start missing paychecks in a few weeks. NBPA members have been educated for several years about the steps necessary to survive a long lockout, and Fisher said the union will continue to protect the rights of players who sign overseas this fall.

''I've never seen this union as strong as we are collectively right now,'' said Boston Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal, among the few remaining players who participated in the 1998-99 labor dispute. ''A lot of our young guys are wide-eyed when they see the numbers at first, but now they're educated. We don't need to make a temporary, emotional decision. We need to make a long-term decision for a bigger purpose.''

Owners also met Thursday in Dallas.

Players discussed union decertification during their meeting, but Hunter emphasized the union believes such a drastic step isn't an imminent strategy despite behind-the-scenes calls for the move from several agents. NFL players dissolved their union to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league earlier this year.

The players met two days after a bargaining session between the union's executive committee and the owners' labor relations committee brought no progress after the league refused players' desire to keep the current salary cap system.

''We've kind of dispelled the notion that the players were not together and they were not in support of the union,'' Hunter said. ''If the owners were looking for a break in the ranks ... I think that notion has been dispelled.''

Fisher also rejected the notion that the NBPA is waiting for a ruling on a charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board for unfair bargaining practices, although Hunter said he plans to travel to Washington next week in hopes of getting an expedited ruling.

''Sometimes it's implied that we're waiting, posturing, sitting on the sideline and waiting for something to happen favorable for us with the NLRB,'' Fisher said. ''That's just not the case. It's part of this process, but we're still taking action. We have to negotiate a deal, and that's the only way we'll get what's fair for these guys.''

If NBA owners are searching for cracks in the players' unity, as Fisher and Hunter believe, the union attempted to provide a visual answer. Over 30 players stood together behind Fisher and Hunter at a brief news conference, wearing identical gray T-shirts with one large word in yellow: ''STAND.''

''All the agendas that might be pushed by different groups, they don't have a way in as long as we stand shoulder to shoulder,'' Fisher said.

Fisher sent a letter to his membership earlier this week urging a similar unity and spirit. The letter, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, was first obtained by SI.com.

''The turning point this past Tuesday was not a disagreement between the players and the owners,'' Fisher wrote. ''It was actually a fundamental divide between the owners internally. They could not agree with each other on specific points of the deal and therefore it caused conflict within the league and its owners.

''So it is our hope that ... at the owners meeting in Dallas that they work out their differences, come up with a revenue sharing plan that will protect their teams and are then ready to come together and sign off on the agreement we as a smaller group deemed reasonable.''