MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The NFL has asked a federal judge to keep its lockout in place, saying there are no legal grounds to stop it and accusing the players of trying to manipulate the law.

The NFL filed its arguments Monday in federal court in St. Paul, Minn.

Tom Brady, Drew Brees and seven other NFL players are plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit that was filed March 11 after the union dissolved and NFL owners instituted the lockout after the two sides failed to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The players also asked for an injunction to stop the lockout.

NFL attorneys say any decision on a lockout must wait until the National Labor Relations Board rules on an unfair labor practice charge filed Feb. 14 against the union that argues it “failed to confer in good faith.”

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