How close it got to that point is a matter of opinion. The moment may have come shortly after lawyers from both sides were brought back into the process at an undisclosed location in the Washington, D.C., area.
As tensions rose and anger grew, two sources said NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith instructed his lawyers to "stand down."
With lawyers removed from the direct negotiations, the process was said to be getting back on track and to be in a good spot. The scenario Tuesday is an example of how tenuous the talks can be and how quickly they can be derailed.
But it also is proof that Smith and the players and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners have taken the process out of the hands of the attorneys and demanded control to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement.
During winter negotiations, many around the league worried lawyers were controlling the process. But Tuesday's events are the strongest evidence to date they are not.
As tensions rose and anger grew, two sources said NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith instructed his lawyers to "stand down."
With lawyers removed from the direct negotiations, the process was said to be getting back on track and to be in a good spot. The scenario Tuesday is an example of how tenuous the talks can be and how quickly they can be derailed.
But it also is proof that Smith and the players and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners have taken the process out of the hands of the attorneys and demanded control to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement.
During winter negotiations, many around the league worried lawyers were controlling the process. But Tuesday's events are the strongest evidence to date they are not.
Just posting this because of the huge amounts of comments coming from those who insisted he was the problem... but that was coming mostly from the anti-player pro-owner side of the debate...
I find it extremely encouraged that this chain of events has occurred but the 2 sides kept it real, and stayed committed to the task at hand and told the lawyers to scram.
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