In
professional sports
In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...
, a lockout is the shutdown of a professional sports league by team owners, usually due to a failure of a sports league to come to agree on a collective bargaining agreement with the league's player union. When a lockout occurs, owners close facilities and prevent any team activities, which can result in missed games, loss of paychecks, and unhappy fans.
Notable lockouts include the
1972 Major League Baseball strike, the
1981 Major League Baseball strike
The 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, bu ...
, the
1982 NFL strike,
1987 NFL strike, the
1994–95 NHL lockout
The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and ...
, the
1994–95 Major League Baseball strike
The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season ...
, the
1998–99 NBA lockout
The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team a ...
, the
2004–05 NHL lockout
The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play.
The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...
, the
2011 NBA lockout, the
2012 NFL referee lockout, the
2012-13 NHL lockout and the
2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout
The 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout was the ninth work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. It began at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 2, 2021, after MLB owners voted unanimously to enact a lockout upon the expiration o ...
.
See also
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Holdout (sports)
In professional sports, a holdout (also written as hold out) occurs when a player fails to report to their team—usually before the start of a season—or fails to perform the services outlined in the terms of their contract. Players hol ...
*
MLB lockout
MLB lockout may refer to one of the following lockouts or strike actions in Major League Baseball:
* The 1972 Major League Baseball strike, which canceled 86 games
* The 1973 Major League Baseball lockout, which cancelled no games
* The 1976 ...
*
NBA lockout
The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association:
*The 1995 NBA lockout, which lasted for three months before the 1995–96 season.
*The 1996 NBA lockout, which lasted for a couple of hour ...
*
NFL lockout
The NFL lockout may refer to any of the lockouts or strikes in the history of the National Football League:
* The 1968 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted 12 days before the start of the 1968 season.
* The 1970 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted a ...
*
NHL lockout
The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League:
* The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season
* The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...
References
Sports labor disputes in the United States
Terminology used in multiple sports
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