The NFL Players Association are butting heads once again, this time over how to negotiate changes to the league’s personal conduct policy. The NFLPA has told the league that it would like any changes to be collectively bargained, according to the Sports Business Journal.
NFLPA pushing league to collectively bargain over personal conduct policy changes
The NFLPA has been adamant that any changes to the league’s personal conduct policy must be collectively bargained. The NFL has been resistant, however.
Brendan Smialowski
The NFL is resistant to the idea, saying that the league hasn’t had to bargain with the union to enact conduct policy changes in the past. NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello explained the league’s position in an email.
“These policies have been in place for almost two decades (since 1997) and have never been the subject of collective bargaining,” Aiello wrote. “The Commissioner’s authority in this area has been recognized for decades and the NFLPA has never contended that the policy is a subject of collective bargaining.”
Change appears to be inevitable for the policy, however it occurs. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said that he is open to change in light of an offseason rash of domestic violence cases, the most notable involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. The league has floated adjustments, including a separate policy for players and non-players, but it's not clear whether discussions were concrete.
As the policy currently stands, Goodell has the power to hand out punishment as he sees fit. The Rice case presented potential issues with that part of the policy in instances where the commissioner may have an agenda or stands accused of misleading fans and media. The NFLPA has called for additional oversight and more thorough due processwhen determining punishment for personal conduct violations.
Such extensive changes would fall under the purview of collective bargaining, according to NFLPA assistant executive director for external affairs George Atallah. Via SBJ:
“The discussions we have had in recent weeks with the NFL have included issues that we believe require collective bargaining,” Atallah said. “Those issues include material changes to Article 46,” he said, a reference to the portion of the collective-bargaining agreement titled “Commissioner Discipline.”
Attallah added that the NFLPA has made its point clear to the NFL “in multiple ways” that any changes will need to be collectively bargained.
“That is a decision that they will have to make, but we will reserve all our rights,” Atallah said. “We are very disappointed that they have not committed to the bargaining process. The next steps remain to be played out.”
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