On Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA Commissioner DeMaurice Smith, five prominent owners and a number of players reps met in a “secret meeting” in Chicago, in order to discuss some key issues of the lockout under the watchful eye of Federal Mediator, US Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.
A week to the day before, Boylan had cancelled mediation sessions scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday in Minneapolis, stating that the two sides were busy with “confidential settlement discussions.”
Not surprisingly, of the five owners present at the meeting was the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones. He was part of the owners’ representation at the meetings, which ran through Wednesday and into Thursday for a short time.
"The parties met pursuant to court mediation,” the NFL and NFLPA said in a joint statement on Thursday. “Owners and players were engaged in confidential discussions before Chief Magistrate Judge Boylan. The court has ordered continued confidentiality of the mediation sessions.”
No lawyers were present at the meeting, but most concerned, including Jones, believe that the sit-down was a positive sign.
"We're trying,” Jones told the Chicago Tribune, via ESPN. “I think the fact that we're meeting is good."
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