NFL's Goodell, Smith meet in Minneapolis
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference at the NFL football owners meetings in Rosemont, Ill., Tuesday, June 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Credit: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
The two sides in the NFL lockout met Tuesday in Minneapolis, but without any of the owners and players who are most interested in the negotiations.
According to the NFL Network, commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, leader of the now-decertified players' association, met and will meet for the next three days in Minnesota to continue the labor talks that have been conducted on and off for the past several weeks.
Goodell and Smith took a detour out of Minneapolis for Sarasota, Fla., Tuesday night, with SI.com reporting that Smith invited Goodell to speak to the players association's rookie symposium and the commissioner agreed. They will return to the negotiating table in Minnesota Thursday.
Giants owner John Mara has been among the group of owners and players who have met in secret locations, including on Long Island, for two days a week the past month.
Smith met with his outside counsel and a group of players in Minneapolis on Monday. The city is where U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan's chambers are located, and Boylan has mediated previous bargaining sessions.
The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to issue its ruling on the NFL's appeal within the next two weeks. The three-judge panel is ruling on a lower court's injunction lifting the lockout.
