With members of both sides jockeying for position in the public arena, the deluge of labor discussion is only about to begin in earnest.
DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, has been more than a little vocal in asserting the widely-held belief, on the part of the players, that the owners want a lockout; the owners, of course, insist that they do not; some outsiders believe it's the players who want the lockout, to create a tumultuous climate and therefore wrest some leverage from the owners in negotiations.
If you've made it this far, pat yourself on the back; this back-and-forth, tiresome as it may seem now, will almost certainly get worse over the next year. The issue was a popular one at the Super Bowl in Miami, and it will stay that way until a new deal is agreed upon. That is, consider Patrick Crayton's comments on the issues, to Ben and Skin on ESPN Radio earlier this week (per the DMN), the tip of the iceberg.
"You try not to think about it, but you have to, and right now, from what our executive director is saying, Mr. Smith, it's almost like guaranteed," Crayton said. "He's saying prepare yourself for the lockout, man, it's just, it's a shame."
Not surprisingly, Crayton used the "G-word," a must in this sort of thing:
"It all boils down, man, to greed; you know God says that's one of the seven deadly sins," Crayton continued. "And, that's what...really may get us in the end."
