On Monday evening, NBA Commissioner David Stern officially cancelled the first two weeks of the 2011-12 NBA season. The announcement came at the conclusion of several hours of bargaining between the owners and the players' union. Stern described the two factions as being "very far apart on virtually all issues" when he informed the media that he was cutting the opening fortnight from the schedule.
The key disagreement is the revenue split between the players and the owners. Although the players have shown a willingness to drop their share from the previous labor deal brokered at the end of the 1999 work stoppage, they have not come down as far as the owners demand. Other issues include a potential "hard" salary cap and other such mechanisms aimed at ensuring competitive balance between large- and small-market teams.
Although Twitter-using NBA owners like Mark Cuban (@mcuban) and Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) had no comment on the cancellation for their followers, many of the league's players -- as well as the fans and media members who follow the NBA -- shared their thoughts on the news. The players have embraced the social media platform and used it to directly connect with fans throughout the lockout. Not only have they been adding hashtags like #letusplay and #standunited to their tweets but individuals like Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) have even been answering questions about the specific issues on the table.
Below are some of the most insightful, witty and poignant reactions to the cancellation of regular-season NBA games.
(WARNING: There is some foul language in a few of these tweets)
