NFL files complaint against NFLPA

The NFL on Monday raised the stakes in its dispute with the NFL Players Association by filing a formal complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The NFL accused the union of failing to bargain in good faith as a way of running out the clock on negotiations and setting up an eventual decertification of the union.

According to a copy of the complaint obtained by Newsday, the NFL charges the union with delaying the scheduling of bargaining sessions; failing to respond in a timely fashion to proposals by the NFL management council, inducing the management council to make proposals that were rejected; insisting on financial data that the NFL says it is not legally bound to disclose, and suspending talks until the league agrees to provide more detailed financial data.

The league also said the union's behavior during the last 20 months "plainly establishes that it does not intend to engage in good-faith collective bargaining with the NFL after the CBA expires."

The complaint asks the NLRB to force the union to bargain in good faith as the sides prepare for the expiration of the agreement after March 3.

The NFLPA dismissed the NFL's claims. "The players didn't walk out and the players can't lock out," the union said in a statement. "Players want a fair, new and long-term deal.''

The sides formally negotiated twice last week. Meetings scheduled for Thursday, however, were canceled after the union said the league's negotiators walked out of Wednesday's talks.

Jets replace Alosi. The Jets hired Bill Hughan as strength and conditioning coach. The hiring of Hughan - who spent the last three seasons as the Falcons' assistant strength and conditioning coach - came 14 days after Sal Alosi resigned. The Massapequa native had been suspended indefinitely since Dec. 13 for tripping Miami's Nolan Carroll.