Coaches’ body seeks sports lawyer services to develop at par with NFL, NFLPA – NFL News
Aiming to be established as a professional organisation of the National Football League (NFL) at par with the players’ union and league office, the coaches’ association has appointed prominent lawyer, David Cornwell, as its new executive director.
Jimmy Raye, president of the coaches’ union, said that the NFL and NFLPA have greatly developed over the recent period of time and that Cornwell’ appointment is aimed at helping the union to rise to their level.
He said:
“The league office is heading towards a period of "unprecedented opportunities" and the lawyer’s "experience and relationships will enable the coaches' boat to rise with the tide."
Cornwell has had an opportunity of becoming an executive director of the players’ union in 2009. The position later went to the current director, DeMaurice Smith, who is with the organisation for last couple of years.
The lawyer has represented the NFL and NFLPA in the past and is a well known figure in the American sports community. In addition, he was also on the cases of some of prominent players such as Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
His appointment is expected to help out the coaches’ organisation in its efforts to be more organised, professional and well represented entity, as the NFL and NFLPA are.
The NFL and NFLPA are actively engaged in the policy development matters in the interest of players and franchises.
NFL office has particularly emerged as a strong and most successful organisation by developing itself on business and professional lines.
It has increased its capacities and created opportunities for the players’ welfare and commercial success more frequently over the recent past.
For example, it has revised its broadcast deals with all major sports networks, and is looking to increase the number of regular season games from 16 to 18.
It has also talked of a possible expansion in the number of franchises in the future, which might happen in the longer period of time.
Similarly, the NFLPA has reached a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the NFL to protect interests of the football players on and off field.
It has also worked out a deal on the introduction of strict players’ safety measures to avoid and timely redress injuries such as concussion.
The union is also working on introduction of drug testing procedures and system, which is likely to happen in the near future.
On the contrary, coaches are not involved in such matters as much as they should be, and probably this need has prompted them to seek services of a professional lawyer.
The coaches are always the frontline causalities in the teams’ so called overhauling drives, which are often launched after their failures in the regular NFL season.
The association is hardly heard in the media, in spite of the fact that some of its members such as Jim Caldwell have become victims of rash hiring firing.
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