NFLPA: The Dilemma!

5 thoughts on “NFLPA: The Dilemma!”

1. Drew,

   First and foremost, RIP Junior Seau.

   The NFL and NFLPA remind me so much of the much vaunted “self-regulatory organizations” such as FINRA (stockbrokers) or State Bar Associations (attorneys). They do an excellent job of collecting fees, issuing regulations, and weeding out the worst of the worst. Between these three functions is a huge blackhole where massive injuries occur.

   Any self-regulatory organization is corrupted by the very fact the regulated parties are the ones performing the regulation. The proverbial fox being put in charge of the foxes watching the hen-house. There is no incentive to do right by the end consumer or injured parties, but only to do enough to 1) keep making money and 2) avoid third party intervention/regulation which would reduce the amount of money made.

   It doesn’t matter how many Saints players are suspended since they are the true outliers – the Madoffs of the NFL. If no action was taken against the Saints, the NFL and NFLPA would be in the crosshairs of state and federal agencies. Imagine OSHA opening up a league-wide investigation… By taking action against the Saints and its players, the NFL avoided such a problem. The NFLPA, while making noise about the suspensions, can’t complain too loudly for fear of creating a situation of appearing to support such atrocious conduct. By making noise the NFLPA appeases its constituency and by not taking any substantive action it allows the “Madoffs” to be punished, and business to go on unchecked.

   Only when there are clear rules and clear penalties, coupled with timely and fair enforcement across all teams and all players will you see any change. Unfortunately, the NFL and NFLPA see the sport as a cashcow. They base their decisions on economics. These two organizations are incented to maintain the status quo since the fans are so rabid for the sport and send scads of cash to the league. But more importantly, the fans’ spending habits generate the revenue for the TV networks’ advertisers, which in turn is used by the networks to determine the fee structure for advertising during the games, which in turn is used to determined the fee structure charged by the NFL for televising the games. Those very fees drive the teams’ revenues and players’ salaries. The teams and the players are the two entities regulating the hits. So to some it up: the two regulatory bodies know they will make more money for the harder, nastier hits. Therefore, the two organizations have no incentive to make any substantive changes, but only take action to the extent necessary to prevent a third party from intervening.

   Only when there is an an unbiased third-party creating and enforcing the rules will we see change.

   Of course, we have to look at the broader picture, will the fan base be willing to support a “safe” NFL. Each fan will ask: “do I want to watch the new, safe NFL product?” If the answer is “no” then we fans are also a part of the problem, since the change will destroy the fan interest, destroying the cashflow, thereby destroying a large part, if not, all the league.

   There aren’t any easy answers to this one.

   Mike

2. Good Morning from Omaha,

   a nice way to look at the problem of the NFL. mike seemingly has hit the nail with his safe NFL product.

   The rules are the rules. they are there to protect the players but the players should also assume some of the risk.Offensive players understand the game as well as the defensive guys. An offensive lineman can take out a knee almost as easy as the defense can. Wasn’t it Hines ward that broke a safeties jaw with a block a couple of years ago?

   Football is a violent game. IF the word bounty had not been tossed into the mix all of this would have been part of the highlight reels of NFL films. It would be nothing special as hits of this type have been the rule of thumb in the NFL for years.

   As a wise woman said over the weekend If these hits were illegal or wrong why did the refs not flag the players involved? There were no flags thrown during the plays that have been shown so where is the problem? cheap shots yes- penalties- no.

   Add the word bounty and all of a sudden the league is shaken to its being.

   as they used to say in radio ” the hits just keep on coming!!!”

   STrive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

3. The problem is that the defensive players take damage when they inflict those huge highlight reel hits too… Just look at Troy Polamalu’s constant issues with concussions as an example.

   I’ve come to believe that the pace and violence of the modern NFL make it an unsustainable model for the future. Eventually, as more and more high schools and colleges either cancel or dramatically modify their football programs due to various factors (insurance costs, fear of liability, pressure by parents), the talent sources will dry up and the NFL will be forced to change too if it wants to survive. The NFLPA and the front office types all seem to have their heads in the sand about this – it may be the most popular sport in America right now, but people’s attitudes will change (slowly) as more and more stories like Seau and the Saints start showing up in the headlines over the next few years.

4. The previous comments have me nodding. I would only add a couple of things:

   1: The NFLPA is a union, and as such must advocate for their players on both sides of an argument. When a player pays their dues – just like any member of the AFL-CIO, NEA or IBEW – They are paying for legal counsel and advocacy of their rights in the workplace. While it may seem dictonomous for an entity to fight for compensation for an injured player and leniency for the one that inflicted the injury, both parties have paid for such a service.

   The second is that football protective equipment is more offensive than defensive. Helmets are driven and shoulders are led with during contact.

   What’s more, football is the only one that allows heavy contact between opponenets who may not necessarily have posession of the ball/puck: moving picks, blocking and interference are all illegal in basketball, hockey, soccer and rugby.

   And in rugby – which by appearances should be every bit as violent and life-threatening as American football – has produced relatively few chronic conditions, due in part to blocking restrictions and rules pertaining to proper tackling. While an NFL player who falls after a collision is a player down, in rugby a tackle must have a player wrapped up and pulled to the ground, with absolutely NO head contact.

   While there has been much hue and cry over the recent cheap shots in the opening round of the NHL playoffs, A key point was missed: NONE of those hits were legal under NHL rules, and were punished both by game penalties and league sanctions. Many of the NFL’s punishments have come down from the league offices, but NOT as a course of gametime discipline.

   Until the sport legislates not safer equipment but rather safer contact, then expect to see more damage from collisions at higher speeds with lighter armor.

5. ear Drew,

   I’ve been struggling if I should write what I’m about to write because I personally belong to a union. So know that as you read this.

   If there is a bad perception about unions, its that they not only protect those who are being mistreated but it seems like just as often they are defending what to the rest of us seems like the “undefenseable”. Yet for the union they have to. They can’t make the decision what is defenseable and what is not. They are being paid (by the dues) to protect every with equal vigor.

   Is it frustrating at times? Yes. No more so than the defense lawyer who defends a person accused of the most heinous crime. They must to the best of their ability make the prosecutor prove the accustion. Thus in this case the players union must defend ALL of their players.

   I’ll leave the question of if its fair or right for another time. All I know is that is the way things are.

   All the best

   Louis