NFL Lockout Over - But Is the Real Issue Resolved?
After a four month long work stoppage, the NFL and the Players Association are most likely going to approve a new collective bargaining agreement that will begin the process of the 2011 NFL football season.
The new contract will be a ten year deal and was approved by the owners 31-0 with the Oakland Raiders abstaining (which is not surprising considering that Al Davis is still in control of the team).
As a result of the long delay in reaching a new deal, training camps and free agency for all teams will all be altered some what over the next few weeks and the annual pre-season Hall of Fame game between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears has been cancelled. Fortunately, no regular season games will be affected by the lockout and subsequent new deal.
A big issue on the minds of the player's union, aside from the dollar amount, is the health concern for it's members both past and present. It's been widely documented recently that the NFL may have hidden for years the dangerous impact players may face after their football careers are over as a result of concussions they receive on the field.
Many former players, who now suffer from depression and have filed suit againts the league, are blaming their condition on the NFL taking a non chalant approach about dealing with the impact of head injuries. Some players are even pledging to donate their brain tissue to science to further investigate these claims.
Sadly, one former player may have finally started the pig skin rolling into making a change in the way the NFL thinks.
Dave Duerson, a former Chicago Bears safety and business owner, took his own life February 17th of this year. Having lost several of those business ventures and his home to foreclosure, one might expect his actions just to be a result of depression.
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