U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson blocked the NFL from suspending five players (Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith) for violating the league’s anti-doping policy because he needed more time to consider the case after hearing several hours of arguments from the league and the NFL Players Association today. Afterward, the NFL released the following statement:

“Judge Magnuson made clear this afternoon that he needed more time to fully and carefully consider all of the briefs, arguments, and cases put before him. We welcome that scrutiny. We are confident that, once he has had an opportunity to review all of the relevant materials, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he will uphold our longstanding agreements with the NFLPA that protect the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game.”

So, all five players can play Sunday (Charles Grant is injured and would not have played anyway), but their immediate futures are still uncertain. The NFL usually gets their way, so I’m not too optimistic for the players, even though I am in their favor on this one. The questions that remain are whether Judge Magnuson will tell the NFL that the players can’t be suspended until the NFL wins the lawsuit; or does he allow the suspensions, with the players then eligible for financial compensation if they were to somehow win the lawsuit?

Even if the suspensions are officially revoked, I don’t hold much hope for the 6-6 Saints who are three games behind the Bucs and Panthers (and two games behind the Falcons) in their own Division. But the Minnesota Vikings’ playoff hopes are probably riding on the judge’s decision. And this lawsuit may have only made matters worse if the ruling allows the suspensions next week. If the Vikes do get to the playoffs, the four game suspension would trickle over into the team’s first playoff game.

Source: NFL.com, NFL Media

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Federal Judge Blocks Suspensions

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

NFLPA (National Football League Players Association) executive director Gene Upshaw died last night at his home in Lake Tahoe, CA. Gene had pancreatic cancer, but the news comes as a shock because he was diagnosed only this past Sunday. The NFLPA Web site issued the following statement today:

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of our leader, Gene Upshaw. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Terri, and their three sons – Eugene, Justin and Daniel. Gene learned he was sick just this past Sunday and he died with his family at his side. We ask that the media respect our need to begin the process of dealing with this unexpected tragedy and to begin the grieving process.”

Gene has been Executive Director of the NFLPA since June 1983, after a successful 16-year career as a player. Since then, he worked diligently at enhancing, protecting and defending the individual rights of professional football players throughout the National Football League. He also served as Chairman of National Football League Players Incorporated.

Gene was an All-Pro offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, his first year of eligibility. He played in 217 league games and appeared in six Pro Bowls. He was named Lineman of the Year in the AFC in 1973 and 1974. In 1977, he was voted top lineman in the NFL, and runner-up for that honor in 1980. Gene is the only player in NFL history to play in three Super Bowls in three different decades—in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

Gene was a team captain, while also serving as an NFLPA player representative and officer for 13 years. He served as alternate representative or player representative for the Raiders from 1970 to 1976 and was a member of the executive committee from 1976 through 1980 when he was elected president of the NFLPA, a post to be held until 1983. As an officer of the NFLPA, Gene took part in all negotiations leading up to the 1977, 1982 and 1993 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFLPA and the NFL, and extensions of the CBA in 1996, 1998, 2002, and most recently, 2006.

Source: NFLPlayers.com, Photo: Newscom

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NFLPA Director Gene Upshaw Dead at 63

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae was elected president of the NFL Players Association today. As a 14-year veteran and someone who has been on the union’s executive committee for the past six years, Kevin’s a great choice. He’ll replace Troy Vincent, whose term recently ended and who last played for the Buffalo Bills before retiring. Kevin called his election by the player representatives an honor with serious issues looming, referring to the the collective bargaining agreement:

“The players are well informed of the potential cancellation of the CBA by the owners. They are committed to doing what it takes to preserve our game ….. That is of most importance, because the players need to know what they are facing and also how to react. In the end, it goes back to educating players of our past, how we’ve accomplished what we’ve gotten and having a plan for taking care of our business.”

The union also elected Domonique Foxworth of Denver, Drew Brees of New Orleans and Mike Vrabel of New England as new members of the executive committee. Re-elected were: Brian Dawkins (Philadelphia), Jeff Saturday (Indianapolis), Mark Bruener (Houston), Tony Richardson (Jets), Kevin Carter (Tampa Bay), Keenan McCardell (free agent) and Donovin Darius (free agent).

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Kevin Mawae Named NFLPA President

As I mentioned back on June 8, Congress today heard the testimony of aging NFL retirees who said that playing professional football left them with broken bodies, brain damage and empty bank accounts. Chicago Bears Hall of Fame head coach Mike Ditka was among those retired players who told a sympathetic House Judiciary subcommittee tales of multiple surgeries, dementia and homelessness, all while trying to fight through the red tape of the National Football League and the NFL Players Association’s disability system.

Lawmakers say the players from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s laid the groundwork for the popularity of the NFL, a billion-dollar industry, and should be treated better. These same lawmakers might get involved if a better pension and disability system isn’t created. Of course, the NFL and the NFLPA say pensions are improving and there’s no need for Congress to step in. Pensions are improving, this is true. But by how much are they improving?

Last week, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to allow any former player who qualified as disabled under the Social Security system to be considered as disabled under the NFL/NFLPA system. This is a step in the right direction, but retired football players have been openly critical of the NFL and the players’ union over the amount of money older retirees get from a $1.1 billion fund set aside for disability and pensions. Let’s look at the numbers. The league says $126 million a year goes into pension and post-career disability benefits for retired players and their families. The accounts pay out $60 million a year to those players, $20 million of it for disability payments. But only 317 out of more than 10,000 eligible players are getting disability payments out of that fund. Lawmakers zeroed-in on the fact that the players’ union only represents active players, not retired players. This is a problem. The union and the NFL owners decide who sits on the panels that determine whether retired players get disability payments. NFL and NFLPA reps noted that the benefits in the disability and pension systems are set through collective bargaining negotiations between the players and the owners. Apparently, many of the players who now complain about their pensions did not view pension benefits as a priority when they were playing, and did not agree to make sacrifices in bargaining to improve either their pensions or the pensions of those who came before them. So, they’re getting what they deserve?

In the most recent collective bargaining agreement, payments from the pension fund were raised by 25 percent for players who retired before 1982 and 10 percent for those who retired after 1982. Again, these are at least steps in the right direction. The retired players need to answer for their lack of action when they were playing. And the NFL and NFLPA need to understand the role these players have had in the history of the game and continue to improve benefits.

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Congress Might Get Involved in Disability Dispute Between NFL, Players’ Union