The NFL lockout has been back in effect for two weeks now, and the NFL is preparing its case against the players and Minnesota Judge Susan Nelson, which will be heard before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; to say the least, their argument is quite persuasive.
The NFL owners claim that the union's decertification is a total sham, and that Judge Nelson had no authority to lift the lockout; further that she should have waited for the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) to rule.
The NFL also claims that without a new CBA the league would descend into utter chaos as teams that are better off economically, i.e. the Dallas Cowboys, would be able to sign as many top flight free agents as they possibly could while lesser franchises, i.e. the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars, would have a very hard time competing economically.
"It would be difficult, if not impossible, to unscramble the eggs and return those players to clubs that otherwise may have had contract arrangements with (or, at least, a greater ability to enter into contracts with) such players in the absence of an injunction," the league's court brief asserted.
"Because there are no practices or other organized football activities conducted during a lockout, no player suffers a risk of career-threatening injury or physical wear and tear," attorneys wrote (ESPN).
The hearing is not until June 3, and it is looking more and more likely that the NFL season will ultimately be canceled because neither side is willing to meet the other halfway. Instead, there are two sides that seem hell-bent on ripping each other apart through their lawyers and through the media than getting some serious work done.
My prediction: If nothing is resolved in the June 3 hearings, and nothing changes come late July - as they say in New York ... furgedaboutit!
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