NFL, Union Hold 1st Session With Federal Mediator

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By HOWARD FENDRICH

WASHINGTON (AP) - The NFL and its players' union has met for about six hours with a federal mediator.

Friday's session included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and union executive director DeMaurice Smith.

It is the sides' first meeting in front of George Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a U.S. government agency.

The NFL's current collective bargaining agreement with the players expires at the end of the day March 3, and talks have been slow and contentious.


Read more: http://sports.excite.com/news/02182011/v6828.html

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FULL story at link.


NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell arrives for the first negotiating session involving a federal mediator, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

[arcane1]

1. Run, it's a UNION!!!!!!111

:scared:

[madrchsod]

2. going right to mediations?

big money pro sports.....

[rocktivity]

3. I'm happy about it because it means the owners blinked.

It's gotten through to them that the public will NOT take their side if they do a lockout. If the players are asking for too much money, it's because the owners are TAKING IN too much money!

:headbang:
rocktivity

[S_B_Jackson]

4. I think that both sides have "blinked"........

there had been a quiet movement amongst the players to possibly de-certify which would enable players to file anti-trust suits against the league. The owners had gone to court to preempt that tactic and likely would have won.

For the public, it ultimately boils down to the fact that it's a freaking game, for god's sake! A game run by billionaires, who hire millionaires to play it. And it's becoming clear to both sides that the public's not going to favor the millionaire players suing the billionaire owners, any more than it's going to support the billionaire owners if they decide to lockout their millionaire players.

They're to split that troublesome $1 billion that's in question down the middle......what I would hope is that 40% of that contested billion goes to the players, 40% goes to the owners, and 20% goes to a fund for retired players (especially those before salaries exploded) pensions and medical expenses who have serious long-term medical issues as a result of their playing the game.

[Rage for Order]

5. They'd better not kill the goose that's laying the golden egg

They can argue all summer if they want, but if they cancel any games I'm going to be really pissed. As long as a deal gets done by mid-August I'll be happy.