NFLPA fires arbitrator who ruled against union president JC Tretter over comments about players faking injuries: Report

Yahoo

17 hours ago

The NFLPA fired arbitrator Sidney Moreland on Wednesday, just months after he ruled against the union in a grievance concerning comments made by former NFLPA president JC Tretter, according to Sportico. The news comes the same week Moreland's ruling was obtained by journalists Mike Florio and Pablo Torre.
Moreland's dismissal reportedly had nothing to do with the ruling being leaked, sources told Sportico. The NFL and NFLPA have the ability to fire arbitrators between July 10 and July 20 of each year, per an article in the collective-bargaining agreement, so the timing could be a coincidence.
On Thursday, Florio and Torre revealed the NFL and NFLPA worked to try and bury a ruling made by Moreland concerning players faking injuries as a strategy to receive a better contract.
In 2023, the NFL filed a grievance against Tretter, then the NFLPA president, over comments he made during an appearance on "The Ross Tucker Football Podcast." Tretter was asked about running back holdouts and the resistance from some teams about handing out significant deals to running backs.
Tretter responded by implying it was a smart strategy for a player to fake an injury to sit out of practices while seeking a new contract. He seemed to recognize his error during the show, saying, "I don't think I'm allowed to ever recommend that, at least publicly, but I think each player needs to find a way to build up leverage to try to get a fair deal."
The NFL believed Tretter's comments violated the collective-bargaining agreement, and filed a grievance against Tretter two months after that interview.
Moreland ruled in favor of the NFL, saying Tretter's comments violated a section in the CBA, per Florio.
Said the NFL, in a Tuesday statement to PFT: 'The Arbitrator upheld the Management Council's grievance in its entirety and found that Mr. Tretter's statements violated the CBA by improperly encouraging players to fake injury. As a result, he prohibited Mr. Tretter and the union from such conduct in the future. The NFL did not allege that any individual player ever feigned injury. We are grateful for the arbitrator's thorough review of the evidence and order enforcing the CBA.'
Moreland specifically called out Article 2, Section 2 of the CBA and Article 3 in the CBA in his ruling. Article 2, Section 2 of the CBA contains a passage stating both sides will "faithfully" adhere to the rules laid out in the CBA. Article 3 deals with strikes and work stoppages.
Moreland essentially ruled that Tretter's comments encouraged players to skirt CBA rules by engaging in mini work stoppages.
It marks at least the second ruling the NFL and NFLPA tried to prevent from being reported. Florio and Torre revealed details of the first grievance in June, which found the league and commissioner Roger Goodell encouraged teams to reduce guaranteed contracts to veteran players. The league and players' union was also accused of trying to hide certain details of that ruling from players.
It's unclear why both the NFL and NFLPA felt it was necessary to try and bury the ruling revealed by Florio and Torre on Thursday. The decision makes sense on the NFLPA side, as they ultimately lost. The NFL's decision to hide the ruling makes less sense, as they won the grievance.
The decision adds another layer of confusion to the relationship between the NFL and NFLPA. That relationship has faced scrutiny recently, as an ESPN report revealed NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell worked as a consultant with an NFL-ownership group during his time with the NFLPA, a possible conflict of interest.
Thursday's reveal adds yet another layer of murkiness to the already confusing relationship between the NFL and NFLPA.