Mark Murphy was an NFL player who went on strike in 1982, and now he’s the president and CEO of the Packers during a lockout almost three decades later. He says the current work stoppage does not bring back fond memories.
“Having been on both sides of this, this is really disappointing,” said Murphy, who was once an assistant executive director of the players’ union. “To me, this takes us back to where we were in the 1980s. It’s a shame. We’ve all benefited from the relationships we’ve had.”
The strikes in 1982 and 1987 canceled regular season games, so Murphy’s declaration that the current work stoppage takes the NFL back to the 1980s is bad news. But Murphy isn’t prepared to say the current work stoppage is going to affect the regular season.
“We still have a lot of time,” Murphy said. “At the end of the day, I am hopeful that cooler heads will prevail without any interruption.”