Roger Goodell wrote an op ed piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal lamenting the players' victory in court. Some choice excerpts with my reactions are below.
For many years, the collectively bargained system—which has given the players union enhanced free agency and capped the amount that owners spend on salaries—has worked enormously well for the NFL, for NFL players, and for NFL fans.
This to me is incredibly disingenuous. Do you know the reason we are in this situation right now? It is because the owners chose to opt out of the CBA that produced these results. One of your most prominent owners referred to that last CBA as an (expletive) deal.
Why did the players file that lawsuit? It was because the owners locked them out. The players did not walk off the job. The owners prevented them from coming to their job. Now all of the sudden just because the players beat you in court and gain an upper hand, the old system is the greatest thing ever?
This system that worked so well for the owners produced a number of taxpayer financed stadiums. Teams thanked the fans by jacking up ticket prices and extorting personal seat license money. The owners still wanted more. It is a tough sell to claim the owners are defenders of the fans and the game here.
Under this vision, players and fans would have none of the protections or benefits that only a union (through a collective-bargaining agreement) can deliver. What are the potential ramifications for players, teams, and fans? Here are some examples:
This seems like scare mongering plain and simple. Read examples of what he is saying will happen. Would it be in the interest of the union to let this continue? Are we really to believe the players will not want to go back to the table to get some regulations in place? No rules means the owners can take advantage of players as much as it means the opposite. The players would be crazy to let this happen. Goodell claims it will to make his case sound less reasonable. It seems dishonest, though.
This kind of stuff is why I blame the owners for the labor problem. Just because two sides are fighting does not necessarily mean they are equally to blame. Goodell's faulty logic shows this. Incredibly he accuses the players of trying to upset the current system near the end of the piece.