DeMaurice Smith dismissed with one word a question about his union’s labor deal with the NFL being extended.
Then he attacked.
The executive director of the NFL Players Association quickly said ”no” Thursday when asked about the current 10-year collective bargaining agreement getting extended beyond the 2020 season.
”We prepare for war,” he said. ”If we are able to get a collective bargaining agreement done, great. All of these men went through a unilateral war declared on players in 2010-11.”
NFLPA President Eric Winston stressed there are many portions of the current contract they believe need changing, from health care issues to the union’s role in overall league decisions to, naturally, revenue splits.
”We want 99 percent of the revenues,” Winston joked before adding the structure of rookies’ contracts, health care and technical field issues as key elements for negotiations.
Ryan Wendell said workplace player safety would be an important topic, along with ”more unfettered union access to the players.”
Wendell also wants the players to have a ”seat at the table in how revenues are raised.”
There remain three full seasons of NFL play before any potential work stoppages, be it a lockout or strike. On many issues, the union and owners have fought bitterly through the seven years of this agreement.
It isn’t likely to change, either.
”We have been preparing with the idea this will be another arduous process,” Winston said.
One area the union is adamant about wanting to change is Commissioner Roger Goodell’s role in handing out player discipline. The players gave up any alteration in that area in 2011 in exchange for other concessions from the league.
They’ve regretted it ever since, and also take issue with the system of fines handed out by the NFL.
”The fine system and guys are labeled as repeat offenders,” annoys Thomas Davis, the 2014 Walter Payton Award winner as NFL Man of the Year.
The Carolina linebacker was suspended for one game this season for what was determined an egregious hit on Packers receiver Davante Adams late this season.
”They group and categorize everyone in the same box. It shouldn’t be that way.”
Winston insisted an 18-game schedule, which the league pushed for before the current CBA, remains as nonsensical as it did in 2011.
Smith virtually ducked answering queries about Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback whose kneeling during the national anthem beginning in 2016 sparked the 2017 player protests about social injustice. Kaepernick was not on any roster this season and has filed a grievance against the NFL that the union is supporting.
But Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich, who missed the season while injured, said Kaepernick had an effect on his peers.
”I don’t think that made people more fearful” of repercussions from management, Herzlich said of the demonstrations during the anthem.
”It empowered more people to join a movement they really felt was right. I think the bravery of these men to really show what they feel and say, this is about unity. We’re not going against the country or the flag, but we’re about wanting equality.”
Winston praised the players for their willingness to speak up when a teammate or opponent appeared to be hurt Mike Gesicki Color Rush Jersey , particularly concussed.
”I’ve seen many guys say something to a coach or the medical staff: `Get this guy checked out,”’ Winston said. ”It’s a great thing to see.
”There a big education piece to this, but there’s always an undercurrent of, `I’ve got to stick it out for my team.’ To which I say, `You’re not that good a player when you are concussed. You could cost your team a win.”’
Eagles defensive end Chris Long was awarded the Whizzer White Community MVP by the union. The NFLPA gives the award to a player ”for his profound dedication to positively impacting his team city, and communities across the country, in the spirit of the former Supreme Court justice.”
Long donated six of his game checks this season to funding a scholarship program at St. Anne’s-Belfield School, where he attended high school in Charlottesville, Virginia.
He then donated his last 10 game checks to programs that support educational equality in the three cities where he’s played so far: Philadelphia, Boston and St. Louis. Through the ”Pledge 10 for Tomorrow” campaign, he was able to match his own charitable contribution by raising another $1.3 million in donations.
—
Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle was going through his usual routine Monday, preparing if needed for a save, when general manager Mike Rizzo sought him out.
Rizzo wanted to discuss two things: The Nationals were trading for two-time All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera, and Doolittle was going to keep his ninth-inning job.
Getting a jump on the trade deadline, the Nationals picked up right-hander Herrera from the Kansas City Royals for three minor leaguers, adding him to a back end of the bullpen that already includes the lefty Doolittle and righties Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler.
”It’s almost their way of saying, `Here’s some help. Here’s some reinforcements.’ I think it’s one of those situations where you can’t have too many options down there,” Doolittle said. ”You get a guy who’s pitched in every high-leverage role from the seventh inning on. He’s won a World Series. … We’re planning on playing some really meaningful games down the stretch and making a run into the playoffs. We’re gonna need some help. I think it’s awesome.”
As for the effect on his role, which the Nationals say won’t change, Doolittle called it ”definitely a confidence boost” to hear that it’s ”still my job.”
”You want to add some stuff, but you don’t want to have too many cooks in the kitchen,” Doolittle said. ”It’s not necessarily that guys are super-attached to their roles, but they like to know what to expect – when they’re going to pitch in a game, when to get ready, that sort of stuff.”
The Nationals sent infielder Kelvin Gutierrez Jerome Baker Color Rush Jersey , outfielder Blake Perkins and 17-year-old pitcher Yohanse Morel to Kansas City in the deal announced during Washington’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees. Gutierrez heads to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Perkins will be assigned to Class A Wilmington, and Morel goes to rookie ball.
Herrera has 14 saves and a 1.05 ERA this season. He’s allowed three earned runs in 25 2/3 innings while striking out 22 batters and walking two.
”It’s just a moment you don’t want to see,” Herrera said about leaving his only major league home. ”It’s always hard. I was born and raised (as) a player here.”
The 28-year-old helped Kansas City win the 2015 World Series – and is among the last players left from that title team. He is 23-27 with 57 saves and a 2.75 ERA across 442 games in relief over eight seasons in the majors.
”We’ve known Kelvin since he signed with us when he was 16 years old. He’s one of the very best competitors that I’ve ever been around, probably that this organization has seen,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. ”Without him, there is no way we can ever make it to the World Series, win a World Series.”
Kintzler, the usual seventh-inning man for Washington, went on the disabled list June 10 with a right forearm flexor strain, and Madson spent time on the DL earlier this season.
Madson was a teammate of Herrera’s on the 2015 champions.
”He’s a bulldog,” Madson said. ”I take it with welcoming arms. Let the old horse rest a little bit.”
Instead of waiting to make moves at the July 31 non-waiver deadline, the Nationals opted to strike now. They are the two-time reigning NL East champions but have never won a postseason series. Washington also currently stands in second place in the division, entering Monday 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves.
The Royals, meanwhile, are way out of contention in the AL Central in last place and 22-49 going into the day. They already shipped Jon Jay to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pair of minor leaguers earlier in June.
”We’d like to be holding onto our players longer,” Moore said, ”but where we are in the standings and what we’re faced with and how we’re playing, if we can get the right move, it’s important to move.”
—
AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta and freelancer Alan Eskew in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.
GermanForce
Thema drucken
08.11.2018 04:45
Antworten
