Latest news with #SidneyMoreland
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL won grievance against NFLPA over fake injuries in February, denies it concealed ruling
An arbitrator in February ruled in favor of the NFL after it filed a grievance in 2023 accusing the NFL Players Association of advising players to fake injuries as a contract-negotiation tactic, according to a document with the rulings obtained by The Athletic. It's the second arbitration ruling to come to light in the past month, following the exposure of a collusion decision kept hidden from players in a confidentiality agreement. Advertisement The original fake injury grievance stemmed from a comment former union president and current NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter made in which he suggested players could fake injuries to sit out of practice while seeking a new contract. 'I don't think anybody would say they fake injuries, but we've seen players who didn't want to be where they currently are, have injuries that made them unable to practice and play, but you're not able to get fined, and you're not able to be punished for not reporting,' Tretter said in a July 2023 appearance on 'The Ross Tucker Football Podcast.' '… 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 filed a grievance less than two months later, and the decision was reached on Feb. 20. In it, non-injury grievance arbitrator Sidney Moreland determined Tretter's comments violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states, 'The NFL and NFLPA will use their best efforts to see that the terms and conditions of all NFL Player Contracts are carried out in full by the players.' The ruling also points to Article 3, Section 1, of the CBA, which says 'neither the NFLPA nor any of its members will engage in any strike, work stoppage or other concerted action interfering with the operation of the NFL or any Club.' In a statement shared Thursday, the NFL said: '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.' Advertisement The NFLPA had no comment on the ruling. This grievance decision had not been publicly acknowledged before Thursday, when Pablo Torre of 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the news. However, the NFL confirmed to The Athletic it presented the results of the grievance to ownership and club personnel at March league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. 'Coaches and GMs were briefed on the decision and its impact during a session the first day of the meetings. Ownership was told in a separate meeting,' the league stated. A source familiar with the situation confirmed Moreland had been fired from his arbitrator role this week, news first reported by Sportico. That role is jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, and Article 43 of the CBA states the NFL or NFLPA can dismiss any arbitrator each year within the 10-day window of July 10-20. Earlier this month, ESPN reported — and a union source confirmed — the NFLPA had a confidentiality agreement with the NFL that hid information in an arbitration decision that found league executives pushed team ownership to reduce guaranteed player compensation. In January, an arbitrator ruled there was not enough evidence of collusion around salaries, but thanks to the confidentiality agreement, the full 61-page report from the arbitrator ruling was not made available until it was published on a June 24 episode of the 'Pablo Torres Finds Out' podcast. The collusion ruling was reached one month before the fake injury grievance decision.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFLPA fires arbitrator who ruled against union president JC Tretter over comments about players faking injuries: Report
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.
