|
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
NFLPA Former Player Message June 26, 2011
"Meanwhile, the entire NFL has a duty to the "gladiators" who paved the way for the league's 
You can walk your way to less disability, reduced arthritis pain and increased balance and strength 
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
NFLPA Former Player Message Friday May 20, 2011
|
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
“Our heroes are a lot like us” | Nolan Harrison TedX on USTREAM. Conference
Read more here: http://buildingheroes.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/our-heroes-are-a-lot-like-us-nolan-harrison-tedx-on-ustream-conference/
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Lockout Lifted, Football Operations Can Resume
FROM: JAMES QUINN & JEFFREY KESSLER (CLASS COUNSEL)
CC: DEMAURICE SMITH, NFLPA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, NFLPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RE: ORDER DENYING STAY
Last night, Judge Nelson issued a 20 page decision denying the NFL’s request to stay (delay) the injunction she issued on Monday in the Brady v. NFL litigation that the NFL must stop the lockout. The decision denying the stay is once again very strong, and rejected all of the NFL’s arguments. Accordingly, the order ending the lockout is in full, immediate force.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
NFL owners are wrong, and don’t get it
By Sally Jenkins, Tuesday, April 26, 10:30 PM
Federal judge Susan Richard Nelson essentially said to the NFL owners in her ringing 89-page ruling: Cut your losses, fellas. You’re in the wrong. Understand the extraordinary privilege you have enjoyed all these years, and don’t push it. Stow your hubris, and end the labor dispute, or risk losing everything.
The owners don’t get it, and haven’t from the beginning. But they better get it fast, or the entire structure of the league may come down around their ears. On Tuesday, it suddenly became clear what a doomsday scenario they put into play when they picked a financial fight with their players, and locked them out. It was a profound mistake, committed out of arrogance. While they were calculating revenue, studying profit-loss statements and betting on how many unplayed games it would take the players to fold, they should have taken a crucial fact into account: They are in the legal wrong.
They had no right to lock out the players, they are in violation of antitrust law, and what’s more they are repeat, recidivist offenders. They are guilty as charged, and this is the trouble with their hope for relief on appeal.
The best way to think about the old NFL collective bargaining agreement is as a beautiful magic cloak. It allowed the owners a kind of charmed invisibility when it came to collusion, to artificially controlling competition, to inhibiting player movement, to making their costs certain, and generally suppressing every free market principle. The fact that they had the consent of players via collective bargaining created a non-statutory labor exemption — it gave the owners legal cover for the socialistic anti-competitive way they operate. It also helped them maintain the goodwill of the paying public. Take away that magic cloak, and they look like pirates.
The owners, almost incomprehensibly, voluntarily stripped off their magic cloak and ripped it to shreds, when they opted out of the CBA and demanded $1 billion in concessions from players. They tore up their cloak because, they said, their share of $9.4 billion in revenue wasn’t enough to support them in the style to which they’ve become accustomed.
Why would they do such a thing? Profit motive is one answer, and an exaggerated self-regard is another. This is not to say that there aren’t some good owners — there are some wonderful ones, and Roger Goodell has been a strong and sensible commissioner on just about every other issue. But as a group they are used to getting their way, and bending people to their will. The owners seem to genuinely believe that they could not lose in court — or possibly be wrong. Even now, they are convinced that Judge Nelson’s court order to end the lockout will be overturned.
It doesn’t seem to occur to NFL owners that Nelson merely held the obvious about their conduct: that it was illegal.
Rather than admit wrongdoing or a mistake, the owners are crying that Nelson exceeded her authority, and are bucking her order while they appeal, with games like letting players into their facilities for a cup of coffee but not allowing them to work out. They claim to be confident they will win an appeal, and get a different answer from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, because 13 of the 16 judges were nominated by Republican presidents, and therefore might be conservative and pro-business.
Once again, they have miscalculated. The fact is, getting Nelson overturned will be as difficult as getting a call on the field overturned by instant replay — there has to be incontrovertible evidence the ruling was wrong. But that’s not their only problem. What makes the owners think that they are in a position to appeal to conservative, pro-business instincts?
The fact is, the owners have now placed themselves in the ludicrous legal position of arguing strenuously against free market principles before conservative judges. On Tuesday, Goodell wrote an extraordinary op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal in which he all but begged for a return to the collective bargaining status quo, the “carefully constructed rules proven to generate competitive balance.” Interestingly enough, Goodell did not offer a single legal defense for the way the league does business. He simply argued that the system has made it “one of the most popular and successful sports leagues in history.” So judges like Nelson should leave it alone.
The plain fact is that the owners are the ones who opened the Pandora’s box — and what popped out is a very big monster. Instead of concessions and pay cuts from players, what they may get from them is an Armageddon. Instead of controlled costs, the owners could be looking at the end of the salary cap, the draft, free agency and the union, with every player an independent contractor free to get the best deal for himself.
The owners’ best hope to settle this dispute and maintain the current structure of the league is clear: make a fairly generous offer to the players that treats them as what they are, essential partners without whom there would be no game on the field. But first they will have to admit to themselves that they made a mistake and were wrong. Good luck with that one.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Another Attempt to Divide Players
April 20th, 2011 (UPDATED 9:56 PM)
On Wednesday, Dan Kaplan of Sports Business Journal reported that possibly up to 70 NFL players were considering signing on with a law firm to intervene into settlement mediation talks. The report cited unnamed sources and did not name any NFL players or the law firm.
The below letter* was sent from the firm via email to players, soliciting them to sign up as clients. The letter itself indicates that it is a follow up to a previous effort, as it had to resolve a conflict before proceeding: A partner in the firm previously represented the NFL.
However, the main objective of the letter appears not to be to clear up that issue, but to continue soliciting players as clients since the firm’s goal for participants (70) has not been met.
THE MEDIATION SO YOU HAVE A VOICE. READ BELOW AND SEE ATTACHED.
Please find attached correspondence to you and a proposed player engagement letter. We have not also attached a copy of our standard terms and conditions.
As we discussed, one of our partners in our Los Angeles office has previously done work for the National Football League or its its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accordingly, pursuant to our internal review of this issue and the Rules of Professional Conduct, we must obtain a waiver from the NFL in order to represent players in the referenced litigation. Requesting the waiver will alert the NFL to the players’ concerns and our potential involvement relating thereto which presents tactical opportunities - as it would allow the players to quickly and openly enter the negotiation process - but also concerns as it may create the false impression that the players are somehow fragmented at this time. Accordingly, it is critical that the players consider the issues presented and ensure you that they are comfortable with our seeking a waiver at this time. It is important, additionally, that they appreciate that the NFL may not agree to a waiver. In that case they will need to seek other counsel, though we can assist with that process on an expedited basis. see below for update
It is our hope and intention to represent a group of seventy (70) or more current or potential NFL players.These players have expressed an interest in obtaining independent representation in the hope that by adding their voice to the current negotiations and litigation they may: (1) work to secure a global resolution promptly that addresses the needs of all players; and (2) support and add to the legal efforts of the players now active in the litigation. The focus of our representation will therefore be to accelerate efforts aimed at securing a negotiated resolution of the dispute and, if necessary, intervene in the litigation proceedings and pursue resolution through direct participation in the litigation.
From a legal standpoint, we anticipate taking the following steps to meet the players’ objectives:
1. Advise counsel for players now active in the litigation of the separate interests of our clients and the need to address those interests as a part of securing a prompt resolution of the dispute;
2. Conduct an initial meeting with counsel for players now active in the litigation on an expedited basis to detail our clients’ interests and discuss how those interests can be incorporated into the current negotiations for resolution; and
3. Discuss with counsel for players now active in the litigation in our initial meeting whether the inclusion of our clients as named plaintiffs will be a positive and effective addition to the litigation team and materially advance prospects for a prompt resolution.
It is our intent to work in a cooperative fashion with the current player representatives to add to the force of the players’ claims in the case based on our belief that our prospective clients’ are more “typical” of the average NFL player from an interest, financial and damages perspective. In doing so, however, it is also our belief that a mutually-agreeable resolution of the current dispute is more likely if such “typical” players are more actively represented in the litigation and negotiation proceedings on an ongoing basis.
*****Update from above: per the last email I sent you the Lawyers have spoken to the NFL with regards to the issue they had with a potential conflict and their new partner in LA office. He spoke to the NFL to get their permission to move forward on you and your fellow players behalf.
The response was welcome as they said the present list of players that are in Mediation right now are not negotiating in good faith and they welcome a fresh large list of players to help bridge the gap.
This information is important as they believe the players/PA reps and counsel are acting on the idea that the judge will rule in their favor and this is a bad idea even if it does that would mean this will drag on for months or worse.
I ask you to please get the 70 players to sign onto this as fast as possible the next meeting between the parties is Tuesday therefore we have the weekend and Monday to be added to the table, you would have a voice for your own futures.
*NFLLockout.com has posted the unedited email in its entirety and has not attempted to correct the errors it contains.