NFL Players Renounce Union Status to Block Lockout
After nearly three weeks of negotiations with NFL team owners and the assistance of a federal mediator failed to result in a fair, new collective bargaining agreement, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) this afternoon renounced its status as a union in order to block a lockout by the owners. The NFL left the players no choice.
The players believe their best course of action now is to file individual antitrust suits against the owners if there is a lockout, which they could not have done unless they relinquished union representation in the contract talks.
You can show your support for the players, fans and stadium workers by signing a petition here.
NFL Players: Football Doesn’t Define Them
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Millions of men and women are watching NFL football today, but for most of the players on the field, football is not the only thing that defines them. NFL Players, the marketing arm of the NFL Players Association, is running its REAL campaign featuring 18 NFL players who tell the stories of their lives off the gridiron and demonstrate the wide range of personalities, ideas and emotions of the more than 1,800 members of the union.
This year’s campaign is built around the theme that “Football Doesn’t Define Me.” The players’ personalities were captured through a series of photo shoots featuring Drew Brees (New Orleans), Kris Brown (Houston), Luis Castillo (San Diego), Braylon Edwards (Cleveland), Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona), Walt Harris (San Francisco), Patrick Kerney (Seattle), Shawne Merriman (San Diego), Ryan Nece (Tampa Bay), Clinton Portis (Washington), Matt Ryan (Atlanta), Ephraim Salaam (Houston), Bob Sanders (Indianapolis), Steve Smith (Carolina), Jonathan Stewart (Carolina), Fred Taylor (Jacksonville), DeMarcus Ware (Dallas) and Jason Witten (Dallas).
