NFL, players argue in court

ST. LOUIS -- A day after a series of convivial talks between a handful of NFL owners and player representatives, both sides were back in court Friday battling it out over the latest legal hurdle that threatens to further derail attempts to achieve a comprehensive labor agreement.

Three days of secret talks in suburban Chicago, which included commissioner Roger Goodell, Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and several owners and players, were followed Friday by oral arguments in a hearing before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals about whether the NFL's continuing lockout is legal.

The NFL appealed the decision of Minnesota-based District Court Judge Susan Nelson to issue an injunction that lifted the lockout in April. The Eighth Circuit upheld the lockout twice.

NFL attorney Paul Clement told the three-judge panel that the "reason the lockout makes sense is because this continues to be a labor dispute. It can be resolved by terms of a collective-bargaining agreement."

Clement said he'd be "willing to bet everyone in this room assumes that what's going to happen is that this will ultimately be resolved and will ultimately include a collective-bargaining agreement. If that's the case, it makes no sense to say that the league can't use one of the classic tools that labor law gives them to get to a settlement."

Clement contended that Nelson's injunction violated terms of the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932, which prohibits federal judges from issuing injunctions in labor disputes. Nelson ruled that because the NFLPA decertified, it no longer was a union and the NFL could no longer be exempt from antitrust laws.

Players attorney Theodore Olson said the NFLPA's decision to decertify was valid and that the NFL therefore was violating antitrust law by continuing the lockout. Olson accused the NFL of being an antitrust violation "recidivist" and added that the league's claim that the NFLPA's decertification was a sham bordered on "unconscionability."

Olson said after the hearing that he believes players are suffering "irreparable harm" as a result of the lockout. Clement countered: "I would not concede that . We have reports that come in on a daily basis of players who say this [lockout] is the best thing that ever happened." Many players have said they've enjoyed the time off from rigorous offseason training.

After the late-morning hearing, presiding Judge Kermit Bye said the judges will render a decision in due time, then quipped: "We wouldn't be all that hurt if you should go out and settle this case. That's up to you." He then concluded with a warning that if it does come down to a decision by the court, "It's probably something both sides won't like."

Jets owner Woody Johnson, the only owner to attend, did not comment. More than 20 players attended, including Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who is a named plaintiff, and fullback Tony Richardson and guard Brandon Moore of the Jets.

Vikings free-agent linebacker Ben Leber said both sides have a day in mind that represents a cutoff for negotiations. "The biggest challenge is going to lie with whose day is going to come up first," he said. "Once it got to this point, I think it was just a good guess . . . that nothing was going to get done until the 11th hour. Now it depends on which 11th hour gets here first."

Goodell, who visited troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina Friday, said having the lawyers absent and the players and owners meeting directly helped get the secret talks rolling. "I would just tell you that both sides are committed to continuing the dialogue," he said. "In negotiations, you're making different suggestions, recommendations and proposals from time to time. I think both sides will do that in a responsible fashion." With AP