Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Obsever reports:

Former North Carolina basketball star Ty Lawson, now with the Denver Nuggets, tweeted this recently:

“I wonder if I can file for unemployment. …”

Larry Parker, spokesman for the N.C. Employment Security Commission, emailed this response to an Observer question about whether NBA and NFL players might qualify for unemployment benefits:

“The answer right now is no,” Parker replied. “NBA players would not be eligible for benefits, mainly due to fact the NBA season is not in session. There is a reasonable expectation on the players part that they may play once the season begins.”

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