SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Chargers players have voted to give the NFL Players Association the option of decertifying in the event of a lockout next year.
More than half the teams in the NFL have approved the course of action for the union.
Decertification would enable the union to sue under antitrust laws if there is a lockout. Without decertification, the union would have to wait six months to file a suit after the collective-bargaining agreement expired.
This is the last year of the league's collective-bargaining agreement, and NFL owners could lock out players if no new deal is reached, possibly as soon as March.
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Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press