NFL players criticize Roger Goodell
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been paying visits to several teams around the league during training camp. In those visits, he has been asked questions by players regarding their concern over a possible work stoppage next season.
The players fired away at Goodell with questions and were left unsatisfied with his responses. Many players feel that Goodell is only looking after the best interest of the owners and they still feel like the owners are preparing for a lockout rather than attempt to reach an agreement.
Redskins’ cornerback DeAngelo Hall called the meeting “a waste of time”. He also scoffed at the idea of Goodell being the middle man between the owners and the players: "He's walking around kissing babies, you know, shaking hands, and he just wants to say that the owners are over here, the players are over here and I'm in the middle, I'm for the game," Hall said. "But to ask him a question about anything, he couldn't answer."
Browns linebacker Scott Fujita felt that Goodell was unprepared for how well the players would know the situation: "I was hopeful we'd get some more answers," Fujita said. "I think he came in unprepared for how educated the players were going to be. A lot of guys were concerned about it afterward, and I think kind of shocked for how unprepared he was for these kinds of questions."
Many players apparently were chuckling when Goodell told them that he was neutral in the situation regarding the league and the players union.
Goodell seemed unfazed by the criticism dealt to him by certain players: "I'm not there for collective bargaining," he said."So I make that point straight up that there are restrictions on what we can talk about in the context of labour. And I can't circumvent that, nor would I."
The commissioner also said that he was with teams, mainly to discuss player safety and wouldn’t go into too much detail, regarding the league’s labour situation.
All fans can do is hope at this point. No great progress has really been made in negotiations as teams are getting set to start pre-season. If Goodell is truly the middle man between players and owners, he must do whatever it takes for next year’s season not to be cancelled and ensure a fair agreement is reached for both sides.
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