NFL lockout doesn't sit well with other sports' players unions has 0 comments

May 21st 2011, 11:29 | FFN-Score: 44 points

The unions for professional baseball, basketball and hockey players are siding with their brethren in the NFL court battle, saying the league's lockout should be lifted.

The players associations for Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League filed a brief Friday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying the NFL case presents "vitally important issues" for the unions and their members. The players' associations say athletes' careers are short, and the loss of even part of a season causes personal and professional injures that can't be compensated.

That reiterates the NFL players' argument that the lockout is causing them irreparable harm -- they can't work out or sign contracts with any of the 32 teams. A federal judge in Minnesota agreed and lifted the lockout April 25, but the league appealed.

The appeals court reversed U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson's decision just four days later. And on Monday, the appellate court ruled the lockout can stay in place until a full appeal is heard on whether it is legal. Attorneys for the players were expected to file briefs later Friday, in advance of an appeals court hearing June 3 in St. Louis.

In keeping the lockout, the appellate court said it believes the NFL has proven it "likely will suffer some degree of irreparable harm without a stay."

In their brief Friday, the players' associations said "there is no off-season in professional sports -- only the portion of the work year during which no games are played." The unions said that part of the year brings opportunities -- such as the option to change cities, teams or the trajectory of one's career.

Also Friday, a nonprofit group that has been fighting sports work stoppages filed a brief saying the lockout should be lifted. The Sports Fans Coalition, which says it gives fans a voice on public policy issues and fights for fan access to games, said the lockout isn't in the best interest of fans, who pay billions of dollars to see their teams perform.

The NFL players also have a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league pending before Nelson. The main issues in the antitrust case need to be resolved, but the legality of the lockout is the fight for now.

The NFL has argued in its appeal that lifting the lockout without a new labor contract in place would allow better-off teams to sign the best players, tipping competitive balance and damaging the league.

The league says the union's move to decertify after the initial bargaining talks broke down is a sham; that Nelson doesn't have the jurisdiction to lift the lockout; and that she should have waited for a decision from the National Labor Relations Board before issuing that ruling.

The league also said that lifting the lockout with no labor deal in place would cause chaos, with teams trying to make decisions on signing free agents and making trades under a set of rules that could change drastically under a new agreement.

"It would be difficult, if not impossible, to unscramble the eggs and return those players to clubs that otherwise may have had contract arrangements with (or, at least, a greater ability to enter into contracts with) such players in the absence of an injunction," the league has said in court filings.

The group of players suing the league -- including star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees -- have said the lockout is inflicting irreparable harm on their brief playing careers by preventing them from working out at team headquarters, holding full practices with teammates and coaches and jeopardizing games.

The longer the fight over how to divvy up $9 billion in annual revenue drags, the closer the league and players come to missing games. The first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 7, and the regular-season opener between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers is set for Sept. 8.

When it comes to the overall antitrust lawsuit, attorneys for the players filed documents in U.S. District Court on Friday, opposing a league request for more time to respond to the claim. The league has argued it shouldn't have to respond to the lawsuit until the appeal over the lockout is resolved.

But the players say the lawsuit will go forward whether or not the lockout is lifted and that the NFL's request for an extension is "yet another deliberate step in their campaign to crush the players by extending the lockout for as long as they can."

Also this week, NFL owners and players finished their latest round of court-ordered mediation behind closed doors, without any signs of a new agreement.

Officials and attorneys for both sides said they will return for more closed-door talks with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan on June 7. The sides met for 16 days before talks fell apart March 11. Boylan presided over four days of mediation last month and two more days this week.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press