The NFL Players Association initially had nothing to say regarding Commissioner Roger Goodall’s claim that the union simply wants no discipline of any players under any circumstances. The NFLPA has now chimed in.
Executive director DeMaurice Smith said this on Twitter earlier in the afternoon: “SMH. Welcome to my world. Maybe now the public understands why players and I insist on having certain owners in the room to get things done.”
While Smith doesn’t specifically link his comments to Goodell’s observations about the disciplinary process, it’s very safe to assume that Goodell’s remarks sparked the reaction. Smith is basically saying that there’s a certain degree of obtuseness (possibly deliberate) that makes it impossible for the parties to communicate at a productive level.
Really, if Goodell genuinely believes that the NFLPA’s goal isn’t to ensure fair disciplinary procedures but to obtain complete retroactive and prospective exoneration for any and all player misconduct, it’s amazing the two sides ever get anything done. And if the relationship between league and union continues to gradually fritter and fray over the next five years, it will be amazing if there isn’t a work stoppage when the current CBA expires.
Last time, the players had in place a viable long-term legal strategy for swinging the balance of power in their favor, but they lacked the collective will to miss game checks in order to get what they wanted. Next time, maybe they’ll be at the point where they’ve had enough and are willing to spend part or all of a season not absorbing various forms and fashions of physical punishment on a playing field that, from a business standpoint, still isn’t nearly as level as it should be.