Will There Be Football After All?
Monday, May 16, 2011
As the lockout of NFL players’ from facilities continues around the league, there was a brief bit of “detente” taking place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Sunday afternoon. The Patriots’ owner and safety Patrick Chung were together as Executive Judges for the Science of Sports Science Fair, presented by Raytheon and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. Technically speaking, players are not allowed in team facilities during the lockout, however, Chung was considered a guest of Raytheon – and therefore allowed to be present at the stadium.
After the judging of science projects from Boys & Girls Club teams from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had taken place, Kraft went out of his way to assure fans that football was still on his agenda. “We will have football again, very soon,” Kraft told an audience of several hundred participants, friends and family members. “If we could get the lawyers out of there and get the principals to sit down, we could get this done.
“You don’t solve problems like this with litigation,” Kraft later added. “You solve it by sitting down and by finding ways to build together. People with a vested interest in the product should be the people sitting down and solving it.”
At the present time, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the NFL’s request for a hearing, set for June 3rd to hear arguments on the league’s appeal of the “Brady vs. NFL” lawsuit. At stake is whether or not the lockout of players can continue until a new collective bargaining agreement between players and owners is worked out. Court ordered mediation is also set to resume today (May 16), after just four days of talks last month and 16 additional days of negotiations earlier this year.
One thing the two sides apparently do agree upon is that each side is willing to do what it takes to hammer out a deal. “They’ve got to do what they have to do, and we have to do what we have to,” Chung said, who declined further comment on the lockout or the negotiations. “He looks pretty good,” Kraft added, referring to Chung, “like he’s in good shape. We can’t wait to get back together with our players.”
As for just exactly when that might be – getting back together with players – Kraft stayed non-committal. However, there was a definite conciliatory tone to his comments, and a sense of urgency. “The lawyers are winning here, getting big fees. We’ve got to get back to the business of football. No one wins when you have litigation.”
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