The NFL Players Association has taken plenty of flak in the aftermath of the release by Deadspin of photos from the Greg Hardy criminal case. Some have suggested that the union shouldn’t have pursued an appeal of Hardy’s 10-game suspension, based on the photos of the damage done to Nicole Holder.
But this position ignores the job of a union. Like any union, the NFLPA has an obligation under federal law to protect all members of the union.
“We have a duty of fair representation to all of our members,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told PFT via email on Sunday. “The role of our union is to defend player rights within the parameters of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
In exercising that duty, the union must separate the conduct from the CBA. No matter what a player has allegedly done, he has rights -- just as he would have rights in a court of law. To disregard those rights in cases where the charges are unsavory would be wrong, and also would be a violation of the duty of fair representation imposed by federal law.
As to Hardy, the union didn’t argue that Hardy’s suspension should be reduced because he didn’t violate the Personal Conduct Policy but because the league’s standard punishment for first-time offenders in domestic violence cases before the Ray Rice case was a two-game suspension.
After Commissioner Roger Goodell faced criticism so intense that some thought he’d possibly lose his job when suspending former Ravens running back Ray Rice only two games, the league dramatically changed the Personal Conduct Policy. After Rice, Goodell never was going to be accused of going too easy on any player, ever again.
So he imposed a 10-game suspension, and the league’s hand-picked, go-to arbitrator cut it to four. The NFLPA apparently persuaded Hardy not to further fight the issue with a federal lawsuit, even though Hardy had a strong argument that he should have been suspended only two games.
The NFLPA has defended all players accused of misconduct, regardless of the conduct. The union filed grievances on behalf of Aaron Hernandez, when the Patriots tried to not pay him money that Hernandez was owed following his arrest for murder.
The union wasn’t condoning Hernandez’s behavior; it was fighting for his rights under the CBA. That’s precisely what the union did for Hardy, and precisely what it should do for any player whose rights are being potentially violated under the labor deal.
