The NFL and the NFLPA can agree on one thing: The Ravens violated the rules of the OTAs.
Ravens Violate Practice Rules, Forfeit Last Week Of OTAs
The two sides issued a joint statement regarding the violation:
“The NFL Management Council and the NFL Players Association have resolved a complaint by the Players Association against the Baltimore Ravens concerning violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s off-season workout rules. It was determined that the Ravens violated the rules concerning the intensity and tempo of drills conducted on the Club’s organized team activity days (‘OTA days’) and the length of time spent by players at the Club’s facility on such days. As a result, the Ravens will forfeit the final week of their off-season program (June 14-18, 2010). Ravens’ players are not permitted to be at the facility on those days, but will be paid for the sessions. The Club cannot reschedule the canceled days.”
It’s unclear exactly what the “intensity and tempo of drills” means but there are rules that indicate the drills run during these OTAs are to be non-contact. The second part of that -- “length of time spent by the players at the Club’s facility” -- is a defined rule that the Ravens violated. Players can’t spend more than four hours at the facility per day during these OTAs and they can’t be on the field for more than 90 minutes at a time.
The Ravens acknowledged that they had broken the rules and apologized for the error.
“The NFL informed us of the situation, and the action they’ve taken is appropriate,” G.M. Ozzie Newsome said. “We made a mistake, and it won’t happen again. We’ll complete our organized team activity days this week and then turn our focus to the start of training camp.”
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