Goodell & Smith Speak To Rookies
SARASOTA, Fla (CBSMiami.com) – In a public show of unity, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith took questions in a joint appearance at an NFLPA for NFL rookies.
The rookies had the same question that every fan continues to have about the NFL lockout: when will it end?
Neither Goodell or Smith would take the bait, but the fact that both were appearing on stage together is giving fans and players hope a deal is imminent.
"That's really the significance of this," NFLPA spokesman George Attalah said. "There's a lockout happening now, but we've got to look forward and consider the necessity to have a positive working relationship with the league."
Goodell and Smith talked for an hour with the rookies and then both men climbed into the backseat of an SUV and headed back to the airport to travel back to Minnesota.
Back in Minnesota, talks between the players and owners are expected to continue through Friday. No players or owners are in the negotiations, only Goodell and Smith and their respective staffs.
For everyone involved in the labor dispute, time is of the essence. In order to not miss any training camp or preseason games, a deal needs to be in place and the lockout lifted by July 15.
Neither owners nor players want to miss preseason games as that will take more money out of the pot that both sides are looking to split up.
At the same rookie symposium in Sarasota, recently incarcerated NFL receiver Plaxico Burress discussed his prison sentence and the impact of l decisions on a professional career.
