NFL Owners, Players Return To “Mediation”
The players and the owners are resuming mediation today and while it is theoretically good that the two sides are back at the table, nothing is likely to come of it.
We haven’t talked about this in a while because quite honestly, there has been nothing to talk about. I could have bored you with daily posts about how we are waiting on the 8th Circuit Court to rule on whether or not to uphold Judge Susan Nelson’s ruling to lift the lockout but they don’t seem to be in any hurry to do so. As such, we haven’t been in any hurry to bombard you with post after post informing you that nothing is happening.
While we wait in the 8th Circuit to do their jobs, one of Judge Nelson’s other rulings was that the owners and players return to mediated negotiations today. Unfortunately, while both sides have to be there, both will probably stand pat until they hear from the 8th Circuit on the appeal.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney all but confirmed that.
“We’d like to make progress, but it’ll be hard to do,” Rooney said, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network. “We have to wait to see what happens June 3.”
So don’t hold your breath.
The closer we get to summer, the closer we get to missing football. Basically, it is all going to come down to what happens in June. Whoever wins in the 8th Circuit will have the leverage. If the losing side decides to give up at that point and play ball, the season could be saved. However, if the loser digs int heir heels and decides to go another round…
Well, we’ll cross that bridge (and jump off of it) when we come to it.