I'm sorry i made a mistake i thought the 8th circuit found that judge nelson had no jurisdiction to stop a lockout. Not that the decertification was a sham. They made no ruling on that. http://www.antitrusthall.com/?p=260
Good to see the players had so much faith and trust in the NFLPA executive committee. I guess all 1900 players should have been in negotiations the whole time. Under normal circumstances, the union membership accepts the deal the leadership struck or not. And it makes no sense for the owners to agree to a new CBA without the union recertifying. Otherwise, the anti-trust exemption does not apply to certain key aspects of the deal (the draft, free agency rules, etc) and a player could file a new anti trust suit at any time in the future. You can't waive future rights. The players appear spiteful, disorganized, and dysfunctional and are posturing. I can't believe Goodell and Smith did not agree on a timetable. It looks like Smith screwed up here. What else is new.
I'm hoping its a bunch of players who don't realize you have to give to get things you want in a negotiation such as this one. I think that it's a handful of guys that haven't read the conditions of the deal, but heard about one or two things they don't like and now they're sounding off about it. I can't see 1000 players refusing to recertify because of a few outstanding issues. Its time to sign this damn thing and get back to football.
Interesting point made on Mike and Mike. When D.Smith got the job as player rep, one of his biggest selling points was his political connections. He wants to be a senator one day, and he's gotta know on some level that there's no fucking way "the grinch that stole football" will ever get elected to anything. Might be another day or two, but he won't let this thing melt down.
The players and owners live in a different world then us regular joes. That being said I agree, I don't feel sorry for any of them other than us fans who just want our football back. It is getting frustrating now. I was hoping for FA to start this weekend and get the ball rolling.
Also, another one of his points was that he said "If you don't want to take care of the NFL Alumni, then I'm not your guy." Alumni benefits were also another hang up. I don't think you can hold it against him for getting much needed aid for players who are experiencing Alzheimr's at 42 years old...
While I agree that this business that the players are being "forced" to re-form the union is total bs, it would seem that both sides should have realized there is some procedure to go through to properly recertify the union. I don't know enough about labor law to know what's invovled there. But let's say there's a legitimate point about timing and process. Why don't the owners end the lockout pending recertification and final approval? After all this all started with their decision to force the issue with a lockout. The NFL played games for some time back in the early nineties without a union. I understand all terms desired by the NFL can only be agreed upon properly through collective bargaining. Whatever else is here going on, it is not the case that the owners cannot end the lockout until after the union is recertified. They can.
Even if they both agreed yesterday we would be waiting till Wednesday for free agency. Hearing about it is still annoying but nothing changes as long as this gets done by Tuesday which I think it will. This has reached "too big to fail" status.
maybe everyone should turn off the tv and live their lives and let the players and owners figure it out. but no all of you have such hard ons for football news to happen that you are freaking out about every little tweet someone sends. but its ok, once they sign everyone will be right back sucking the teet paying hand over fist like nothing ever happened.
I think the biggest issue is free agency - that obviously cannot proceed until after the CBA is approved, and that can't happen until the union is recertified. It's not just a matter of opening up the doors to current players - that can certainly be done at any time.
Are you kidding me? No offense to Myra Kraft, but I don't think negotiations should be halted because of her funeral...that's bullshit. Especially when the 2 sides are at a critical junction where time is of the essence. Or perhaps they will continue to work towards ratification, but won't say anything to the media about any progress made. Myra would've wanted it that way.
The NFLPA will work towards ending their side of this shit, but we won't hear about it. Its a good move for politics. Kraft does practically influence everything business related in the NFL
