Tag: NFL lockout (Page 5 of 12)

      5 questions with Brian Frederick of SportsFans.org

      May 24, 2011 /

      While the NFL owners and players continue to battle in court about how to split the $9 billion pie, some fans are not sitting idly by waiting to find out what happens. Brian Frederick, the executive director of SportsFans.org, is one of those who is literally fighting on behalf of the fans–the fans like you who continue to get shafted by greedy sports team owners and overpaid players. We had the chance to ask Brian a few questions recently about SportsFans.org and some of the current issues affecting fans:

      The Scores Report: First, if you can tell me briefly about how you started your organization and some of the things that you stand for?

      Brian Frederick: Sports Fans Coalition was founded in 2009 by the chair of our board, David Goodfriend, a former Clinton White House staffer. He put together a great board, including a member of the Bush White House. I was brought on in August of 2010 to be the first full-time employee. We were founded to give sports fans a voice on public policy issues; to bring the voice of the fan to the halls of power. We are concerned about issues like media blackouts, stadium construction, ticket prices, work stoppages and the lack of a college football playoff.

      TSR: I read that you were trying to earn a seat at the initial labor negotiations. Did anyone respond to you at all and if so, what did they say?

      BF: After one of the mediation sessions in DC, DeMaurice Smith asked to speak with me and he and I walked back to his office and chatted. He said we had written a great letter and he was interested in some of our ideas. He saw no reason, for instance, that a new CBA couldn’t include language ending blackouts. I am still hopeful that he will try to include that in whatever the new CBA looks like, but I am not holding my breath. I never heard from Roger Goodell.

      TSR: Now that the appeals hearing is set for June 3 and a ruling might not come down until a month later, do you think any games will be missed?

      BF: It depends on the ruling (and further appeals). I’ve always felt that we are likely to lose some early games but not the whole season. That’s not to say that there’s not a chance the whole season will be lost, it just seems unlikely because this is just over how to divide revenue within a structure that works. The NFL doesn’t have the deeper problems that the NBA does, for instance. If the owners win their appeal, I think we’re looking at some lost games. If the players win, I think there’s a better chance for football in the fall.

      TSR: Do you think the NFL has done enough damage to this point that will make fans boycott, at least to some degree?

      BF: The NFL is certainly damaging its brand every day this dispute drags on. I don’t think it’s caused enough harm yet that fans will boycott. Only after games are missed will there even be a chance of enough fans uniting to take action. This is unfortunate, of course, because that is what the NFL and NFLPA are counting on — that fans won’t care until games are missed. But that attitude (like a game of chicken) is exactly what leads to missed games. There’s this sort of attitude among fans that it will get worked out — “they always work it out.” Well, they don’t always work it out. Sometimes there are games missed and even whole seasons.

      TSR: When players and owners say how important the fan is, do you believe them? Why or why not?

      BF: I believe that they believe the fans are important in the sense that they are important to their bottom line. They are interested in treating fans as loyal consumers and they don’t want to jeopardize that relationship. They want the fans to have an enjoyable experience and to pay as much money as they are able to in order to have that experience. They don’t mind that they lose fans who can’t afford to follow anymore. That’s troubling. Sport doesn’t have to be that way. At SportsFans.org we’re trying to empower sports fans and fight for a different way of thinking about sports — one that places what’s great about sports (passion, camaraderie, fair competition, athleticism, etc.) ahead of huge profits.

      For more information about Sports Fan Coalition and SportsFans.org, please visit Sportsfans.org.

      External Sports, General Sports, Interviews, News, NFL

      Ray Lewis: Crime will increase if there’s no NFL season

      May 24, 2011 /
      Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis is introduced prior to the Ravens game against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on January 2, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

      During a recent interview with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis suggested that crime would go up if the lockout continues and there’s no NFL season this year.

      “Do this research if we don’t have a season,” Lewis said. “Watch how much evil – which we call it a crime – watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game. There’s nothing else to do, Sal.”

      The crime will pick up for whom? If Lewis was referring to the fans, then I would tend to disagree with him. If he’s talking about the players, then I think he’s right on the money.

      With Garrett Wolfe’s arrest in South Beach over the weekend, there have now been 13 NFL players arrested or indicted since the lockout began in mid-March. That was roughly 75 days ago, which means a NFL player has been, on average, arrested every six days since that point. (And I’m even rounding up.)

      Lewis is right when he suggests, “there’s nothing else to do” for players. Without football they have plenty of disposable income (or what they think is disposable income) and all of this free time on their hands with no structure or organization when it comes to their lives. I apologize if this sounds crass, but some players simply don’t know what to do with themselves without having to report to team headquarters every day.

      That said, there are plenty of players that continue to work out on their own or with teammates in preparation for an upcoming season. These are hard-working guys and I don’t want to make it sound like every player is out there committing crimes when it’s just a percentage of these boneheads. But 13 arrests in 75 days? That’s ridiculous. The union formerly known as the NFLPA should be ashamed of its defunct self.

      Granted, I realize this is all very subjective. If someone were to conduct an actual study to figure out whether or not players or fans would commit more crime if there weren’t a NFL season, then they’d probably find out that fans got into more trouble. And besides, we only hear about athletes because they’re public figures. We’re not hearing about Joey Eagle fan being arrested for robbery. (Of course, there are more fans than there are players so that would have to be factored into the study as well and…I’m nauseous.)

      But in this realm of subjectivity, I think Ray Lewis should be more worried about his fellow NFL brethren when it comes to crime than he is about fans.

      External Sports, NFL

      Latest round of NFL talks fail – no free agency until after July 4?

      May 18, 2011 /
      Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (L) breaks up a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Oakland, California October 31, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      ESPN’s Adam Schefter is predicting that free agency will not begin in the NFL until at least after the July 4 holiday writes Rotoworld.com.

      The next leverage point is the 8th Circuit’s June 3 hearing on the appeal of Judge Susan Nelson’s decision to lift the lockout. The 8th Circuit’s language this week suggests the Players will lose that appeal, at which point they will have to take a good, hard look in the mirror. ESPN’s NFL business analyst, Andrew Brandt, believes there is now a chance of a new CBA through mediation, “hopefully made by mid-to-late July, setting up the start of football.”

      The owners and players wrapped up another round of court-ordered mediation on Tuesday evening without coming to a new agreement. There was supposedly some progress made, but neither side is sharing details so once again, the media and fans are left in the dark. (I’m not complaining about being left in the dark – dark me up all you want. Just give me some f**king football next season.)

      As Rotoworld points out, it appears as though the players want to stick with litigation until the bitter end, even though it’s apparent they’re going to lose on June 3 when the owners win their appeal. At that point, here’s hoping both sides wise up and realize that negotiation is, and always has been, the only way that a new deal will get done.

      External Sports, NFL

      In the end, the NFL and players are seemingly back to square one

      May 17, 2011 /
      New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (R) hugs NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after they defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIV football game in Miami, Florida, February 7, 2010. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES)

      It’s maddening to think that after nearly 70 days, we’re right back to where we started when it comes to the NFL labor dispute.

      I don’t pretend to know everything that’s going on with the current lockout situation. Just like most fans, I try to stay up on what’s current by reading news stories, columns and tweets from so-called experts, but I feel like I should have a law degree in order to completely grasp what’s going on. I have to read NFL-themed content about 12 times nowadays in order to fully understand it (which isn’t completely surprising seeing as how I’m not that bright).

      But by now everyone understands the basics. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that its temporary stay is now a full-blown, ironclad mega stay and the NFL lockout will resume. It was a major victory for the owners, who will likely win their appeal on June 3 if the two sides can’t come to an agreement on a CBA before then.

      In essence, we’re right back to where we started when the NFL officially locked its doors in mid-March. The owners want to stay out of court and are blaming the players for preferring litigation. The players continue to claim that they’re only interested in playing and the owners are the bad guys for preventing them and the fans from enjoying the game.

      But what this really comes down to is lack of communication. If that’s too simplistic a take on the topic, I apologize. But that’s what it comes down to, right? When the old CBA was still in place and a lockout was looming, all everyone kept saying was how the two sides would be better staying out of court and negotiating a new deal on their terms. Instead, the players had always planned on decertifying and taking their chances in litigation, and now we’re right back to square one. As previously mentioned, if the players continue to press on in court, they’ll probably lose and the lockout will continue uninterrupted (which means no free agency, no mini-camps and absolutely zero enjoyment whatsoever for fans). Thus, in the end, negotiation has always been the best policy.

      Nothing has changed here, at least not really. The NFL and players need to negotiate a deal. It’s the same thing they had to do months ago before the court system got involved. Think about all the time that has been wasted and for what? I get it: Labor disputes are nasty business. But what has changed here? After all this, the two sides still have to negotiate and as a fan, it’s nauseating to think that the best course of action has been right in front of the players and owners’ faces for months.

      It appears as if the 2011 NFL season is doomed unless these two sides can work out an agreement for a new CBA. What’s funny/ironic/makes-you-want-throw-up is that the same thing could have been written back in February and March before the lockout became official. Here’s hoping the two sides are done wasting everyone’s time and will actually come to an agreement when this latest round of mediation begins.

      External Sports, NFL

      Appeals court sides with NFL, lockout remains

      May 17, 2011 /
      NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (C) enters a federal courthouse to resume talks regarding labor and revenue issues between the NFL and the NFL Players Association in Minneapolis, May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Miller (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)

      The owners received a major victory on Monday night when the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NFL’s stay, meaning the lockout is no longer temporary.

      While this may not be good news for fans in the short term (because the lockout continues), it should force the players and owners to head back to the negotiating table. The owners want to stay out of court and have blamed the players for preferring litigation. The owners are now expected to draw up a new CBA proposal soon, which could be viewed as a positive sign.

      The owners are in a great position here because the same panel that sided with the league to keep the lockout in place will also hear arguments next month on the legality of the NFL’s work stoppage. Thus, it could be assumed that the owners would win their appeal on June 3 if the two sides can’t come to an agreement before then.

      The most frustrating part about this labor dispute is that the answer to the lockout has been in front of the owners and players’ faces this entire time: Negotiation. Way back in February and March when the old CBA was still in place, observers kept commenting on how the best course of action was for the two sides to come to an agreement and stay out of the courts. But the players seemingly made up their minds that they wanted litigation when they decided to decertify, which made it hard for the two sides to come to an agreement at the start.

      Now we’re right back where we started from, and negotiation is the best way to end the madness. Maybe this time the two sides will get it right and actually hammer out a new CBA deal before even more damage is done.

      External Sports, NFL

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