NFL ready to open doors to players Friday
NFL teams are tentatively ready to open their doors to current players Friday morning, pending the outcome of a court ruling filed by the league after players won a court ruling Monday.
In response to Federal District Court Judge Susan Nelson's ruling that granted a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout, the NFL Thursday instructed its 32 teams to allow players to report to their training facilities, work out, meet with coaches and participate in organized team activities and minicamps.
The league has filed a motion to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to issue a temporary stay to the injunction. If granted, the league again is expected to bar players from entering team facilities.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs suing the NFL on antitrust grounds have until 1 p.m. Friday to respond to the request for a stay. The league then would have until 10 a.m. Monday to respond.
"Look, football is back, and I think that's a great day," NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said Thursday at a predraft event in Manhattan. "Not only do our fans deserve to have the game they love, but it's important to know that something as inextricably intertwined with American culture is back."
Smith said "players stood up on behalf of themselves and on behalf of the people who came before them to fight for the game that they love.''
If the Eighth Circuit refuses to grant the stay, the league year is expected to begin Monday, which would signal the start of free agency and trades. Teams are permitted to trade only draft picks, not players, during the draft, which ends Saturday.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said a few hours before the start of the draft Thursday night that the league was "putting together player transaction rules so we can do it in an orderly way. We're opening our doors at 8 tomorrow morning, and players will be back at facilities."
Goodell also reiterated his belief that litigation isn't the answer.
"We need to get together and solve our problems face-to-face and negotiate these issues, and get to the point where we can remove the uncertainty, get an agreement that works for everybody," Goodell said. "That's only going to happen through collective bargaining."
But there might not be any bargaining for quite some time, because both sides appear dug in with the legal process. After Nelson's latest ruling, the leverage swung in the players' direction; however, if the Eighth Circuit eventually issues a stay and overturns the injunction -- a decision that might not come until June -- the owners will gain the advantage.
It's also uncertain just how many players will return to their facilities. Giants center Shaun O'Hara said he's telling teammates not to show up yet.
"Things are changing by the hour," O'Hara said Thursday. "The one thing I try to do with the teammates I've spoken to is encourage them to continue with their planned workouts.
"I know they said facilities will be open tomorrow starting at 8 a.m., but if the Eighth Circuit comes back and issues a stay tonight, that all changes. Under that grayness, that uncertainty, if you're in the area and the stay is not granted and you want to go over and work out, great. But don't change your plans. Don't book a flight tonight. Because it may change."
Now mandatory and voluntary minicamps can begin, and players can take part in club-sponsored charitable events. The NFL also can make arrangements to resume counseling, rehabilitation and programs for substance abuse and steroids.
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