News came out today that the NFL Players Association is telling incoming playing to not attend the NFL Draft next month. Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting “17 top prospects that ordinarily would have received an invitation to attend the draft and informed them not to go.”
Players not attending NFL Draft a good thing
The NFL’s Greg Aiello quickly retorted with a statement:
“We plan to invite the 15-20 top prospects and their families to New York as we normally do for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. And, as always, it is the decision of the players and their families as to whether they attend.”
Everyone will make a big deal about this, but it doesn’t matter. There is no discernible reason a player needs to be at the draft. It’s a luxury, not a necessity.
Just think what we’re going to miss out on. Players getting their picture taken with Roger Goodell. Some player sitting in the green room longer than he should. ESPN conducting a bad interview with the player saying answers we’ll already know.
For true NFL Draft geeks, this is a good thing. The less glamour in the process, the better. Besides, even if the NFLPA forbids players from attending the draft, we’ll still hear from them. Players will jump on Facebook to celebrate. They’ll talk to local media.
There’s the argument that players boycotting the draft is a shot at the fans. It is, but the whole lockout process has been, so this is just something else.
Still, this won’t stop fans from showing up at Radio City Music Hall to cheer or boo their team’s choice. In fact, there will probably be more people there than ever before. If so, that will show that the fans have a greater interest in the NFL than the players.
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