PFT: Player approval of CBA should be automatic

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July 20, 2011NFL PAGE
Mike Florio
ProFootballTalk.com
As the NFLPA Executive Committee and the NFLPA board of player representatives gather in Washington to consider the proposed labor deal, theres a chance that things could get (even more) interesting.

Jim Trotter of SI.com reported via Twitter on Tuesday that some of the player representatives are expecting a spirited debate. Why a spirited debate? As Trotted explained it, Some players feel they finally have leverage and want to use it. (If having leverage means relying on the fact that theyll lose only 96 million for each week of the preseason that is canceled and that the owners will lose 104 million, then the players apparently have leverage.)

RELATED: NFL players say they're not tied to deal deadline

Truth be told, there should be no debate. There should be no discussion. There should be no hesitation. The players hired DeMaurice Smith for one purpose: To stand in front of the proverbial tank in Tiananmen Square and force the owners to greatly reduce their demands for givebacks in the new labor deal. After months of maneuverings and rhetoric and, ultimately, negotiations, Smith has forged an agreement that he is willing to recommend to the players.

Put simply, if the players wont immediately accept the recommendation of the man whom they hired to make a recommendation they could immediately accept, then they should immediately fire De Smith.

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