OWINGS MILLS. — Refuting a perception that no work is being done over the weekend by the NFL Players Association, executive committee member and Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth said the decertified union leadership is on the case.
"Dear Fans, All NFLPA work is being done by phone," Foxworth wrote on his Twitter account today. "So I’m still on the job while watch tv, hang with my daughter, and running later maybe."
The Ravens have been regularly briefed on the labor issues by Foxworth.
"He’s looking out for us," cornerback Lardarius Webb told Ravens24x7.com.
"Just talking to Fox, he said the deal that’s come across is pretty good," safety Haruki Nakamura said. "The reaction to what the owners did, in the business world, it’s what you call a power play. I feel like if we had the advantage we would do the same thing. That’s how it happens on Wall Street and anywhere else in the world. We just want to make sure we’re dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘T.’
"Fox seems pretty encouraged by the movement and the process and everything else. It’s just making sure everything that’s been negotiated is in the papers and that everybody understands fully what’s going on."
Because of deep mistrust the players have toward ownership, any changes to the deal previously agreed upon caused the players to be wary.
Plus, the lawsuits need to be resolved and the NFL wants the union to recertify as a condition of ratifying a new collective bargaining agreement.
"That type of stuff, whether it’s necessary for us to know it or not, is going to push back the deadline," Nakamura said. "I don’t want to say it’s unfortunate because we have a deadline by Tuesday to get it done and I can almost guarantee it will get done. It’s just crazy.
"The best part about our group is we have guys who understand the business, understand how to negotiate, understand this is such a delicate matter. This is going to affect the next 10 years of the NFL. We just want to make sure that everything is clear."
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times
