An offseason turned upside down will continue to get odder.
Sando: Squandering Goodwill
Sando The NFLPA's planned draft boycott looks like yet another slap in the face for the people paying the bills
-- the fans, ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes. Blog
The NFL Players Association is putting into place a plan that would prevent each top college prospect from attending next month's draft in New York, according to multiple league sources. The NFLPA already has contacted 17 top prospects who ordinarily would have received an invitation to attend the draft and informed them not to go.
Later Monday, a source said the edict is a recommendation, not an explicit order not to attend the draft. The source said the union plans to give the prospects the "same experience down the street."
If the draftees do not attend, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announces the name of the first player selected, the player will not walk onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall as has been the custom. And the player will not be there to do interviews with ESPN or NFL Network. The draft will go on, but not in the manner in which it has been conducted before.
"As of right now, this is 100 percent happening," one source familiar with the NFL Players Association's thinking said earlier Monday. "This is going down."
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The NFLPA even has gone so far as to consider placing the players on another competing network to do post-pick interviews, though no final decisions have been made. Another source said that, in this day and age, it's possible that the top prospects also could appear on a social media network platform, only.
"We plan to invite the 15-20 top prospects and their families to New York as we normally do for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. And, as always, it is the decision of the players and their families as to whether they attend," league spokesman Greg Aiello said in response to the report.
While the NFL has always paid the expenses for the invited players and their immediate family to attend the draft, the league said it would not pay players a fee in an attempt to have them present this year.
Last Friday, the union decertified, meaning it declared itself out of the business of representing players. In exchange for giving up their rights under labor law, the players are able to take their chances in court under antitrust law.
Although it no longer represents players, the NFLPA still exists "as a professional trade association with the mission of supporting the interests and rights of current and former professional football players," it said after decertifying.
Adam Schefter is ESPN's NFL Insider. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
There are 219 users in the forums
Sources: NFLPA wants draft boycott
Mar 14, 2011 at 8:33 PM
- ninersallday
- Member
- Posts: 59
Mar 14, 2011 at 8:47 PM
- jreff22
- Veteran
- Posts: 65,479
f**k them
ITS FOR THE FANS a*****eS
ITS FOR THE FANS a*****eS
Mar 14, 2011 at 9:28 PM
- YungAce
- Veteran
- Posts: 46,915
wise... very wise
Mar 14, 2011 at 9:29 PM
- LAFortyNinerfan
- Veteran
- Posts: 3,644
I wouldn't go along with this if I were a prospect. They're not part of the union. They haven't signed a contract yet. Why take their moment away from them. These guys work their entire lives for the opportunity to hear their names called so that they can accept their jersey at the podium. That's an experience that they'll never get to have again regardless of the CBA outcome.
By the way, the damn CBA should be resolved before the draft.
By the way, the damn CBA should be resolved before the draft.
Mar 14, 2011 at 9:30 PM
- Oakland-Niner
- Member
- Posts: 24,062
[b]
Exactly!!!
Read any of my posts and it's obvious I'm pro player, but this kind of BS is really turning me off. These guys are way over reaching and are about to lose any public support they did have.
Originally posted by jreff22:[/b]
f**k them
ITS FOR THE FANS a*****eS
Exactly!!!
Read any of my posts and it's obvious I'm pro player, but this kind of BS is really turning me off. These guys are way over reaching and are about to lose any public support they did have.
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:09 PM
- Sjceruti
- Veteran
- Posts: 1,528
How incredibly selfish of the players union.
Embarrassing.
Embarrassing.
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:15 PM
- TheGoldenState
- Member
- Posts: 1,687
I bet you there aren't many players who wanna miss walking up that stage.
Look at a player like Vernon when he got drafted, fool started crying.
I doubt players are gonna wanna miss out on the draft
Look at a player like Vernon when he got drafted, fool started crying.
I doubt players are gonna wanna miss out on the draft
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:15 PM
- HessianDud
- Veteran
- Posts: 22,995
i don't really like this, but i understand it.
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:25 PM
- ads_2006
- Veteran
- Posts: 56,436
Originally posted by jreff22:
f**k them
ITS FOR THE FANS a*****eS
hell not even for the Fans
these draftees have worked their asses off to get to this point and the NFLPA is asking them to not to do it? Think of all the sacrifices these kids, their coaches and their families made for this moment. Part of the NFL experience is to get drafted and these few have a chance to walk on stage.
Herm Edwards summed it up best on espn today. He said it was totally classless of the NFLPA to do this. Edwards went on to say "How about the NFLPA ask these mothers and fathers of whether their kid should attend".
These kids are now stuck in a difficult position. Go to draft, and get the cold shoulder from NFLPA or not go to draft and miss out on a great experience.
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:27 PM
- Rubberneck36
- Moderator / HOF
- Posts: 129,745
nothing like taking away from the coolest night in a kids life to prove a point on how both sides failed to do their job...
Mar 14, 2011 at 10:39 PM
- HessianDud
- Veteran
- Posts: 22,995
Originally posted by HessianDud:
i don't really like this, but i understand it.
i mean, if the NLFPA is saying that their efforts include rookies, it would be strange for the draft to continue business as usual, a big celebration in the midst of a broken system. if i were a player invited to the draft, though, i would certainly go.
Mar 14, 2011 at 11:05 PM
- Hopper
- Veteran
- Posts: 11,765
Originally posted by TheGoldenState:
I bet you there aren't many players who wanna miss walking up that stage.
Look at a player like Vernon when he got drafted, fool started crying.
I doubt players are gonna wanna miss out on the draft
Yeah incredibly selfish of the NFLPA to ask these kids to miss a once and a lifetime experience in NY reaching their dream.
Mar 14, 2011 at 11:13 PM
- sincalfaithful
- Veteran
- Posts: 27,712
Originally posted by Rubberneck36:
nothing like taking away from the coolest night in a kids life to prove a point on how both sides failed to do their job...
this..all that hard work to hold up that jersey in the first round but nope let's ruin it for everybody because they f**ked up
Mar 14, 2011 at 11:25 PM
- Kolohe
- Hall of Fame
- Posts: 59,786
Originally posted by Sjceruti:
How incredibly selfish of the players union.
Embarrassing.
Mar 15, 2011 at 12:40 AM
- SanDiego49er
- Veteran
- Posts: 47,889
STUPID.
These are college kids. They have been waiting their whole life to make the NFL. They only get to walk on that stage once and shake the commissioners hand. It's memories for a lifetime. How incredibly selfish of the players and players union to put these young rookies and college students in that position. It's not their fault that the 2 sides couldn't agree.
[ Edited by SanDiego49er on Mar 15, 2011 at 00:40:54 ]
These are college kids. They have been waiting their whole life to make the NFL. They only get to walk on that stage once and shake the commissioners hand. It's memories for a lifetime. How incredibly selfish of the players and players union to put these young rookies and college students in that position. It's not their fault that the 2 sides couldn't agree.
[ Edited by SanDiego49er on Mar 15, 2011 at 00:40:54 ]