I agree with former Morgan State football player and graduate William Rhoden. The NFLPA blew it. This could have been a start for the upcoming negotiations, but the union is already behind before the negotiations get started.
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Players union boss DeMaurice Smith lost the ‘war’ against owners by not fighting for Kaepernick
Not recognizing the QB’s blackballing as a labor issue will hurt all players in next collective bargaining negotiations
BY WILLIAM C. RHODEN
February 5, 2018
The NFL’s season has come to an end. The Philadelphia Eagles made history Sunday by winning the city’s first Super Bowl title, upsetting New England in a record-setting performance.
The Eagles’ historic victory also ended a tumultuous football season defined by protests and introspection.
Sunday’s game underlined a point that seems obvious but is often overlooked: Players make the game. Owners provide the accoutrements, fans give their support, but players, playing a violent game without guaranteed contracts, make the game.
.....
The free-agent quarterback, who became a league darling when he led San Francisco to the 2012 Super Bowl, has remained unemployed. For that, he represents a complex but clear labor issue.
Yet, Smith’s union has remained on the sidelines, allowing what clearly is a labor issue to be defined, framed and reframed as an issue of social justice and patriotism.
As team after team passed on Kaepernick for one reason or another, the NFLPA should have framed his unemployment publicly as a deeply concerning labor issue.
.....
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Players union boss DeMaurice Smith lost the ‘war’ against owners by not fighting for Kaepernick
Not recognizing the QB’s blackballing as a labor issue will hurt all players in next collective bargaining negotiations
BY WILLIAM C. RHODEN
February 5, 2018
The NFL’s season has come to an end. The Philadelphia Eagles made history Sunday by winning the city’s first Super Bowl title, upsetting New England in a record-setting performance.
The Eagles’ historic victory also ended a tumultuous football season defined by protests and introspection.
Sunday’s game underlined a point that seems obvious but is often overlooked: Players make the game. Owners provide the accoutrements, fans give their support, but players, playing a violent game without guaranteed contracts, make the game.
.....
The free-agent quarterback, who became a league darling when he led San Francisco to the 2012 Super Bowl, has remained unemployed. For that, he represents a complex but clear labor issue.
Yet, Smith’s union has remained on the sidelines, allowing what clearly is a labor issue to be defined, framed and reframed as an issue of social justice and patriotism.
As team after team passed on Kaepernick for one reason or another, the NFLPA should have framed his unemployment publicly as a deeply concerning labor issue.
.....
