As the league’s owners gather in Atlanta for a special meeting that may have an item or two on the agenda regarding the ongoing labor controversy, the players are taking their case to Twitter and Facebook.
On Monday, the NFLPA sent the following e-mail to all agents and contract advisors, from union president Kevin Mawae.
“NFL players across the league are participating in a #LETUSPLAY day, which will be an online blitz of the Block the Lockout message #LETUSPLAY across social media outlets,” the e-mail explains. “Fans will be able to join with the Players in a sign of solidarity to help prevent the Lockout.”
No mention is made, of course, of the union’s ability to block the lockout by decertifying.
The e-mail asks the agents to advise their players and contacts to sign a petition at NFLLockout.com, to change their Facebook status to the effort, and to tweet the fact that it’s "#LETUSPLAY Day.”
Though some owners may, as Peter King pointed out Monday on PFT Live, be intent on shutting down the league for a full season in order to get the kind of deal NFL wants, the P.R. push against a work stoppage could make it more viable for the league to not impose a lockout, but to declare impasse in early March and impose the terms of the league’s last, best offer as the new rules.
The players’ options in that event would be to work under the new rules or to strike. And it will be hard for them to strike after they’ve gone to such lengths to get the NFL to “LETUSPLAY”.