In a document obtained from The Huffington Post, the ‘Huffpost Hill’ reports that the owners had been planning for a lockout for quite some time. The document is of a ‘decision tree’ on whether or not the league should proceed with a contract. This is pretty damning evidence. And for those that who would argue that the league was just trying to cover its rear-end in case of a lockout – how could anyone honestly believe then that the league was ‘committed’ to reaching a deal as they stated time and time again?
Roger Goodell states in his letter to the fans of football:
"We remain committed to collective bargaining and the federal mediation process until an agreement is reached, and call on the union to return to negotiations immediately. NFL players, clubs, and fans want an agreement. The only place it can be reached is at the bargaining table."
Sure, now you say that after U.S. Distric Judge David Doty ruled in favor of the players, and you were denied that money you worked tirelessly for prior to the termination of the CBA. Now you MUST be committed to the process of salvaging a season or you’ll lose out entirely. But were you really committed prior to February? Doubtful.
More and more mud is being thrown onto the owners’ case. I’m still not favoring one group over the other, but the owners and league are certainly turning out to be the ones who will look bad in all of this. The players may always seem greedy and be deemed so in the public eye for the millions that they make for playing a game. But, the owners just appear outright villainous with their actions.