On April 25th, 2011, Federal Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered that the NFL Lockout, which was imposed by the owners, to be eliminated, and for the league to resume regular operations. The NFL has promised an immediate appeal.
**4/29/11 Update**
ESPN has just reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has granted a temporary stay of the injunction and reinstated the lockout. Yes, for the time being, the NFL Lockout is officially back on.
Players will not be allowed to use team facilities until there is a final ruling on this manner.
What will happen from here?
The Eighth Circuit will hear the NFL player's argument and then the lockout could be eliminated again or it could remain intact. This would be a temporary ruling until the Appeals Court makes a decision on the judge's original ruling of initially eliminating the lockout. Players, owners, and fans will then wait until Monday to see the next move from the Appeals Court.
NFL draft Friday night
This is very poor timing as the NFL draft will resume with players being selected in the second round. Judge Nelson's original ruling put fan's minds at ease and they could concentrate on the draft and look forward to the season. Now, as each player is announced, we wonder if they'll actually be allowed into the teams facilities and be taking the field for the 2011-2012 National Football League Season. One point for the owners and comissioner Roger Goodell. I'm sure that everytime Mr. Goodell takes the podium, he'll be addressed with a barrage of boos.
Stay updated with SBR as we bring you the breaking news on NFL Lockout which could have a major impact on the season.
**Original Article**
For the time being, this is a victory for the players and dedicated fans of the most widely sport watched and bet on in the United States.
Previously, the owners elected to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement that they had with the National Football League Players Association at the end of 2010 season. In anticipation of this, a number of players disassociated themselves with the union and ended talks with the owners on March 11th. Ten players (Tom Brady,Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning to name a few) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league. The lawsuit has been combined with other claims coming from retired players and future rookies. This caused the lockout.
The NFL was worried that a stoppage to the lockout would leave them susceptible to more anti-trust claims from the rest of the teams. If any damage or wrong doing is proven, the damages (money-wise) are automatically tripled and the owners don't want to lose money. Also remember. NFL comissioner Roger Goodell works for the owners. There's a lot of money at stake. Along with the anti-trust lawsuit, the players filed an injunction.
On April 6th, a hearing was held and the judge heard arguments on the injunction and ordered both the players and the owners to mediate further while she was processing her decision. The players and owners met for 4 days and you guessed it, nothing was agreed upon.
A hearing will also be held on May 12th to see if the players are eligible for possible damages in relation to their dispute with the owners over $4 billion dollars in television revenue.
Comissioner Goodell is not very happy with the results thus far. He feels that this will give great power to the players and the league will crumble.
From a fans perspective, I want to see the players play and for the games to go on as scheduled. Football is a physical sport where a player's career doesn't last as long as some of the other sports do due to the physicality.These players put their health (life in some cases) on the line. The owners need to be more flexible. As of now, the players, the fans, and the bettors have Judge Susan Richard Nelson to thank for the wise decision that she made on Monday