The union's executive committee met with the player representatives and other players on Monday and spoke to the media afterward.

Billy Hunter announced that the union was rejecting the NBA's latest offer and is disclaiming interest because it believes that the bargaining process has broken down.

This action means that the union is no longer the representative of the players as a bargaining unit. The players will now be free to file anti-trust actions against the NBA and its owners.

The next steps are not certain. The league has attempted to make it clear that the NBA will not improve its last offer, which seemed to tie the union's hands as far as sending back a counter-proposal to the league.

The union expressed its belief that the NBA's revised proposal and the bargaining process in general were unfair to the players.

"Although we chose this today, we have not chosen to be in this position," said Derek Fisher. "This is not a strike."

The players reportedly were unanimous in their decision to go forward with the disclaimer of interest.