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Since 2023, NFL fans have gotten used to a yearly tradition of the NFL players' union, the NFLPA, publishing team report cards where players would grade their franchises' working conditions. Now, that tradition is coming to an end.
On Friday, a memo was sent to all 32 NFL clubs informing them that the NFL had won a grievance filed against the NFLPA regarding the report cards. The arbitrator ruled that the publication of such report cards violates the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement and issued an order prohibiting the NFLPA from publishing or publicly disclosing the results of future report cards.
During the proceedings, NFLPA witnesses reportedly characterized the report cards as "union speech," saying that the results published were "cherry-picked" and that players played no role in drafting the actual commentary on the organizations, which was left to union staffers. The NFLPA would also choose which anonymous quotes to include or exclude to support specific narratives, according to the witnesses.
The move comes with plenty of controversy, with people such as former NFL star JJ Watt and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noting that the clearly impactful ratings being prohibited prevents players from being able to have a public forum to critique their workplace and let those across the league understand what working for each franchise might be like.
The NFLPA released their own statement on the ruling, stating that they "strongly disagree" with the decision made, and that while they can no longer share results with the public, it "does not stop the program or its impact" and that the report card exist to "serve players." The NFLPA also pointed out that the arbitrator found the report cards to be fair, balanced, and sound in methodology, rejecting the NFL's characterization.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: NFLPA ordered to stop team report cards: Inside the controversial move
Continue reading...
On Friday, a memo was sent to all 32 NFL clubs informing them that the NFL had won a grievance filed against the NFLPA regarding the report cards. The arbitrator ruled that the publication of such report cards violates the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement and issued an order prohibiting the NFLPA from publishing or publicly disclosing the results of future report cards.
During the proceedings, NFLPA witnesses reportedly characterized the report cards as "union speech," saying that the results published were "cherry-picked" and that players played no role in drafting the actual commentary on the organizations, which was left to union staffers. The NFLPA would also choose which anonymous quotes to include or exclude to support specific narratives, according to the witnesses.
The move comes with plenty of controversy, with people such as former NFL star JJ Watt and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noting that the clearly impactful ratings being prohibited prevents players from being able to have a public forum to critique their workplace and let those across the league understand what working for each franchise might be like.
The NFLPA released their own statement on the ruling, stating that they "strongly disagree" with the decision made, and that while they can no longer share results with the public, it "does not stop the program or its impact" and that the report card exist to "serve players." The NFLPA also pointed out that the arbitrator found the report cards to be fair, balanced, and sound in methodology, rejecting the NFL's characterization.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: NFLPA ordered to stop team report cards: Inside the controversial move
Continue reading...
