Despite some periodic and scattered criticism of the NFL Players Association’s role in the Ray Rice debacle, the truth remains that the union didn’t have a role in the Ray Rice debacle. Via collective bargaining, the NFL secured full authority over the disciplinary process -- and the NFL bungled that authority, badly.
The NFLPA doesn’t discipline players; it defends players when discipline is imposed improperly. After the initial Ray Rice suspension, the NFLPA filed no appeal. After the second Ray Rice suspension, which seems to have arisen from the same conduct and which would thus violate the labor deal’s prohibition against two punishments for one crime, the NFLPA filed an appeal.
Regardless, powers secured by the NFL via negotiations with the union created a mess so bad that the NFL now needs to give some of the powers up via a revised personal conduct policy. As of Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell intended to meet Tuesday with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. That meeting didn’t happen.
It’s unclear why it didn’t happen. But if Smith has decided to play it coy at a time when Goodell is feeling a little desperate to act, well, that’s pretty much what Goodell would do to Smith if the tables were turned.
The NFL has a habit of taking full advantage of all leverage in labor relations, both in acquiring powers and in using them. It’s never about “win-win"; it’s about “we win, you lose, and if you want to change that, be prepared to lose some more.”
So now the NFL will be looking to give up some of its powers in order to restore some of its credibility. To get there, it needs the NFLPA to forget about the league’s past negotiation tactics and commit to the kind of “win-win” approach that the NFL generally has had no interest in pursuing.
As a result, the NFLPA currently has real power. If the league wants to alter the conduct policy in a way that removes power from Goodell, the NFLPA should refuse to make any concessions to get there, insisting instead on changes coming unilaterally. If the league likewise wants to alter the policy in a way that gives the NFL more power over the players, the NFLPA should demand major concessions in other areas.
Is it fair to take advantage of the NFL’s current vulnerability? As the NFL would say if the NFLPA currently were floundering in the wake of a mess of its own making, it’s not about fair. It’s about collective bargaining. And collective bargaining is about using whatever circumstances present themselves to get the best possible terms and conditions.
The NFL routinely has done that, in all negotiations. Now, the NFLPA gets a rare chance to do it to the NFL.