Although the NFL and NFLPA remain at odds, the players achieved a small victory today as Judge Susan Nelson made her decision on when and where talks will restart.
According to ESPN, one day after stating she’d force mediation, Nelson ordered for sessions to begin on Thursday in Minneapolis. U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, appointed as the new mediator, will meet with the players’ representatives on Tuesday and the NFL’s reps on Wednesday.
Nelson, who is still deciding whether or not to lift the lockout at the behest of the players, said that today’s ruling “will not have the effect of a stay on this litigation.” She’s expected to have a verdict “in due course.”
Score this one in the Players’ Association’s favor. All along, they’ve wanted mediation done in Minnesota under federal supervision. Unlike the NFL, who preferred to kickstart talks under George Cohen in Washington D.C., where 16 days of negotiations were held last month before the NFLPA filed for decertification and a lockout was subsequently declared.
Like she did after last Friday’s conference call, Nelson requested that the sessions on Thursday are to remain confidential. NFLPA spokesman, George Atallah, and NFL spokesman, Greg Aiello, followed suit and declined to comment on the specifics.
It seems encouraging that the ball is set to get rolling, and the possibility that an agreement could be on the horizon. Though there is still a long way to go until both parties meet in the middle, at least progress is being made, albeit in baby steps.
Those who are well-connected to the situation, like SI.com’s Peter King, have said the 2011 season would likely be uncapped — similar to last year — without a new CBA in place.
Meanwhile, the 2012 Superbowl in Indianapolis looks to be unaffected. Organizers, and host committee chairman Mark Miles, are carrying on with their plans for the Big Game, while paying no mind to the lockout or its potential consequences.
“There are probably scenarios where you may miss some preseason games and you may even miss some regular-season games and the league officials will have to define what constitutes a season for them,” Miles said. “So we’re doing our thing and we are doing what needs to be done and not let it [the lockout] become a distraction.”
At this point, first thing’s first. The two sides need to come to some sort of mutual understanding, and then the offseason can finally get underway. There’s a long way to go until February; let’s just hope this is a thing of the past by then.
