Philosophical debate on next (NFL) union head

[Omaha Steve]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-nflpadebate082708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports

As the NFL Players Association prepares to pay its last respects to the late Gene Upshaw, there is a debate not only of who should lead the union but also what type of person should become the next executive director.

Should it be “some white dude, labor attorney in a pastel green shirt with a blue blazer and nice loafers who talks about gross revenue” or someone who can “simplify the message so that the players in the meetings can understand it?” former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer put it Wednesday.

“Look, I’m not an expert on labor issues, but I understand what happens in those meetings when the union comes in and tries to explain issues to a bunch of players who don’t really even want to be in the meetings,” said Dilfer, who played for 14 years before retiring this offseason and joining ESPN as an NFL analyst. “If it’s somebody who doesn’t know how to talk their language, (the players) tune out right away and just want to get out of there faster … you hear it all the time, ‘We just had two practices, I’m tired, I just want to go home.’ .

“With Gene – and I know plenty of people had their disagreements with him – but at least whenever he was at the meetings, guys would sit up because he could talk their language and he spoke with conviction. Look, we’re football players, most of us didn’t get here because we studied labor law in college. But the snot-nosed 24-year-old rookie who didn’t pay attention most of the time paid more attention when Gene spoke.”

Welcome to the debate over labor expert vs. plain-speaking former player. On Tuesday Sept. 2, the NFL will pay its final respects to Upshaw, who died from complications of pancreatic cancer at age 63 on Aug. 21, at a service to be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. But before and after, there will be plenty of philosophical discussions on how to proceed for the long term in his absence.

While people with close ties to the union, such as former presidents Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong, have politely declined to publicly discuss the future head of the union, that hasn’t stopped speculation about the post. For now, long-time union attorney Richard Berthelsen is serving as acting executive director and has stated that he will stay with the union through at least the upcoming labor talks with owners over the collective bargaining agreement.

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