Federal judge Susan Nelson may have single handedly saved the 2011 NFL season from being shortened or even cancelled. In my last blog, I broke down the battle between the NFL Players Association(NFLPA) and the NFL owners over the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, here's what has happened since then...
In a major win for the players, Judge Nelson ruled in favor of the players yesterday in the battle over a collective bargaining agreement. In an 89-page document, she wrote, "the players have demonstrated that they are suffering, and will suffer, irreparable harm[from the lockout]." She went on to write, “The irreparable harm to the players outweighs any harm an injunction would cause the NFL." Basically she is saying that the owners will still be making money under the current collective bargaining agreement, while the players are not being paid at all during a lockout. She also referenced that the average career of an NFL player is less than four years, and that being withheld pay during such a minimal career would be "irreparable harm."
The NFL has appealed the decision and will seek a stay in the injunction until the appeal is heard. A stay essentially puts a hold on the ruling until an appeal is heard in court. This is important because the NFLPA sent out an email last night telling players that they are now, as of the ruling, legally entitled to access their team's training facilities and resume offseason activities. Conversely, the NFL also contends that "federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes," which they feel the appeals court will see similarly.
A few players from various teams did show up today, and while they were allowed into the team facilities, according to NFL sources, the NFL Management Council has advised teams to not open weight rooms or training rooms or discuss any trades or contract negotiations with players. The NFLPA, however, claims that if players are not allowed full access to their team facilities, the NFL teams are breaking the law. It's a pretty muddled situation right now, and probably will be for a few days or weeks until this decision and the appeal all gets sorted out.
If and when this does all get straightened out, we can expect all NFL activity to resume. This means, players will return to offseason workouts with their teams, players will regain access to their team facilities and weight rooms, free agency and trades will resume and teams can renegotiate contracts with current players.
It's still a confusing and murky issue, but Susan Nelson's decision yesterday is a good step closer to having football this year, and for that, I think she may be the early favorite for MVP of the league in 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment