Billy Hunter urges players to stand firm

I hope this will help them to stay united. I know it will probably be hard for all of them to stand firm, but they have to realize that there is strength in numbers. In my opinion, the owners are trying to go back on the previous agreement. It appears as if the players are willing to give up some, I just hope it is enough.

NBA players' union executive director Billy Hunter, in a letter sent to members Tuesday, said the 50-50 split of basketball-related income sought by the league's owners would actually result in far greater concessions by the players and urged them to stand strong and united.

"Your role is an important one," Hunter told players in the letter, obtained by ESPN.com. "The owners need to know that we will stand strong until they are ready to finish negotiating a fair deal -- not one reached with preconditions, and not one forced down our throat with the threat of missed paychecks."

In the letter, Hunter explained the reasons he ended the most recent bargaining session with the owners last Friday over the proposed 50-50 revenue split with the locked-out players.

After that session ended, commissioner David Stern announced that two more weeks of the NBA season would be canceled and that playing a full 82-game season was no longer possible.

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