At the end of the 2011 lockout, the NFL Players Association capitulated to a key demand from the owners: Giving the commissioner final say over player discipline under the personal-conduct policy.
In hindsight, the players’ union thinks that was a mistake.
That’s the word from NFLPA President Eric Winston, who told the Washington Post that any future Collective Bargaining Agreement would have to entail handing appeals over to a neutral third party, rather than letting the commissioner hear appeals.
“It would be hard to imagine any new deal if there’s not a change,” Winston said.