NFL sending its rookies early season's greed-ing

[woodbuck27]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=608353

NFL sending its rookies early season's greed-ing

Posted: May 21, 2007

Bob Wolfley

Hypocrisy and greed sometimes appear to be the operating principles of professional sports.

Those two again checked into National Football League huddle a few days ago in the case of Green Bay Packers rookie running back Brandon Jackson and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.

Both of them were forbidden from attending their teams' minicamps last weekend. Both had been invited to something called the Reebok NFL Players Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles to pose for trading-card pictures.

For $12,000 each, the players were expected to go to Los Angeles to have their pictures taken with about 30 other NFL rookies. But they could not join their teams' minicamps.

What on earth could be more important to a new player like Jackson, who wanted to attend the Packers' minicamp, than getting in mandatory practice time?

Have you ever heard of a player in good standing with his team being barred from attending a practice by the ruling body of the league?

Tony Dungy, the coach of the defending champion Indianapolis Colts, is not one usually given to criticizing league policies.

But he made an exception in this case.

"It's a bad message," Dungy told the Indianapolis Star, referring to the decision to keep a player from his minicamp.

"I'm a little concerned that you try to talk about team play, you talk about being unified as a group, then we say we're going to take 35 individuals and treat them special."

The money card trumps both the practice card and the team cards.


Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com

[oregonpackfan]

Tony Dungy makes a very strong point when he says, "It's a bad message," Dungy told the Indianapolis Star, referring to the decision to keep a player from his minicamp.

"I'm a little concerned that you try to talk about team play, you talk about being unified as a group, then we say we're going to take 35 individuals and treat them special."

Being away from the teams' minicamps kept those guys from bonding with their new teams as well as beginning to learn the new systems.

[swede]

The NFL is a pretty good problem-solving organization. If they like this rookie promotion they'll need to get a permanent date set up at an optimum time for them and the teams. Green Bay and the other teams will need to take this event seriously and avoid scheduling mandatory training activities on the same weekend.

It'll be fixed by next year.

[packinpatland]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

[swede]

What was the stick being used by the league in bullying players like Brandon Jackson to stay away from mini-camp?

Would he simply lose the $12,000? Would they fine him? Suspend him for 4 games?

[oregonpackfan]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

[MJZiggy]

The NFL is a pretty good problem-solving organization. If they like this rookie promotion they'll need to get a permanent date set up at an optimum time for them and the teams. Green Bay and the other teams will need to take this event seriously and avoid scheduling mandatory training activities on the same weekend.

It'll be fixed by next year.

It really was a stupid miscommunication. If the league wanted the rookies there, then they really needed to notify the teams ahead of time that this would be a mandatory thing. I think that both the Packers and Colts should get extra minicamps out of this.

[packinpatland]

The NFL is a pretty good problem-solving organization. If they like this rookie promotion they'll need to get a permanent date set up at an optimum time for them and the teams. Green Bay and the other teams will need to take this event seriously and avoid scheduling mandatory training activities on the same weekend.

It'll be fixed by next year.

It really was a stupid miscommunication. If the league wanted the rookies there, then they really needed to notify the teams ahead of time that this would be a mandatory thing. I think that both the Packers and Colts should get extra minicamps out of this.

That might be like telling the kids in June 'we added another week of school!', some might not be thrilled. :)

[BallHawk]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

I think he'd use stronger words then that. :wink:

Man, can you imagine if Vince was around today. Put it this way, if I was Michael Vick, I'd pray Vince doesn't come knocking on my door.

[Rastak]

The NFL is a pretty good problem-solving organization. If they like this rookie promotion they'll need to get a permanent date set up at an optimum time for them and the teams. Green Bay and the other teams will need to take this event seriously and avoid scheduling mandatory training activities on the same weekend.

It'll be fixed by next year.

It really was a stupid miscommunication. If the league wanted the rookies there, then they really needed to notify the teams ahead of time that this would be a mandatory thing. I think that both the Packers and Colts should get extra minicamps out of this.


It was scheduled already, hardly a miscommunication. More like a miscalcualation since nobody forced either team to schedule their mini-camp for THAT weekend. I thought I read a couple teams changed theirs once they realized they screwed up. I think the Steelers moved to mid week to avoid the conflict if I recall correctly.

[Rastak]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

I think he'd use stronger words then that. :wink:

Man, can you imagine if Vince was around today. Put it this way, if I was Michael Vick, I'd pray Vince doesn't come knocking on my door.


I'm guessing his teams would look alot like Tom Coughlins.....

[BallHawk]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

I think he'd use stronger words then that. :wink:

Man, can you imagine if Vince was around today. Put it this way, if I was Michael Vick, I'd pray Vince doesn't come knocking on my door.


I'm guessing his teams would look alot like Tom Coughlins.....

Vince's teams actually win Super Bowl's, though. :wink:

[Rastak]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

I think he'd use stronger words then that. :wink:

Man, can you imagine if Vince was around today. Put it this way, if I was Michael Vick, I'd pray Vince doesn't come knocking on my door.


I'm guessing his teams would look alot like Tom Coughlins.....

Vince's teams actually win Super Bowl's, though. :wink:


Not in the 2000's I'm thinking. I ain't knocking the legend, only pointing out that sort of thing most likely wouldn't fly.

[the_idle_threat]

Wouldn't Vince just love today's NFL?

His infamous quote, "What the hell is going on out there?" comes to mind. :)

I think he'd use stronger words then that. :wink:

Man, can you imagine if Vince was around today. Put it this way, if I was Michael Vick, I'd pray Vince doesn't come knocking on my door.

Vick would sic the dogs on ol' Vince ... :(

[4and12to12and4]

What a joke. I can't believe these guys weren't permitted to at least make their own choice in the matter, or for that matter, the GM of the players. Minicamps are almost exclusively for ROOKIES. This is a joke, and makes the NFL look really bad. Every day in minicamp is important for rookies in their learning stage, I totally disagree with this whole thing. What a joke.

[swede]

Once again I ask, what was the league holding over the heads of the rookies?

What would the consequence be to Brandon Jackson had he shown up at mini-camp instead of the Rookie Expo Whatever Photo Shoot?

[Zool]

Will this even be a blip in anyones memory in July?

[Patler]

Once again I ask, what was the league holding over the heads of the rookies?

What would the consequence be to Brandon Jackson had he shown up at mini-camp instead of the Rookie Expo Whatever Photo Shoot?

Don't blame the league, blame the union. Apparently it was determined to be in the best interests of the players as a whole to generate hype and the free flow of cash from fans to players by making this even as good as it could be. The early articles summarized it this way:


The Premiere event was scheduled for the same weekend as the Packers' minicamp -- and Jackson couldn't choose. The NFL Players Association and the Management Council ruled this week that Jackson was required to attend the Premiere event and not the minicamp.

[Patler]

Jackson missing this year is no worse than Hawk(I think it was Hawk, wasn't it?) missing last year, or countless others who have missed the May minicamps because their schools are still in session and rules forbid them from attending.

The coaches will give him some special attention over the next week or so, and he will catch up.

[swede]

Once again I ask, what was the league holding over the heads of the rookies?

What would the consequence be to Brandon Jackson had he shown up at mini-camp instead of the Rookie Expo Whatever Photo Shoot?

Don't blame the league, blame the union. Apparently it was determined to be in the best interests of the players as a whole to generate hype and the free flow of cash from fans to players by making this even as good as it could be. The early articles summarized it this way:


The Premiere event was scheduled for the same weekend as the Packers' minicamp -- and Jackson couldn't choose. The NFL Players Association and the Management Council ruled this week that Jackson was required to attend the Premiere event and not the minicamp.

That clears it up some. MM seemed more than a little annoyed by Jackson's absence, which surprised me since the issue seemed out of the young man's power to change. I suppose it was possible for MM to be annoyed with the league, the union, his own front office and the player all at once.

Vexed is vexed.

[Patler]

No reason at all for MM to be upset at Jackson. Jackson was powerless to do anything differently. That would be like being upset at a player who is forbidden from attending by rules because his school is still in session.

[packinpatland]

No reason at all for MM to be upset at Jackson. Jackson was powerless to do anything differently. That would be like being upset at a player who is forbidden from attending by rules because his school is still in session.

His 'being upset' was misdirected.
This is a fixable problem.
Whereas schools still being is session, that's one everyone will just have to live with, if the guy wants his degree.

Just curious, how many rookies, after signing their $$$$$ contracts, forgo their degrees?

[Rastak]

No reason at all for MM to be upset at Jackson. Jackson was powerless to do anything differently. That would be like being upset at a player who is forbidden from attending by rules because his school is still in session.

His 'being upset' was misdirected.
This is a fixable problem.
Whereas schools still being is session, that's one everyone will just have to live with, if the guy wants his degree.

Just curious, how many rookies, after signing their $$$$$ contracts, forgo their degrees?


It's fixable on a couple levels, if the NFL is hell bent on having these guys participate, don't schedule minicamp or OTA's on the same day!

[MJZiggy]

I thought the problem was that the didn't tell the teams these things were gonna be mandatory?? If it wasn't mandatory, perhaps M3 thought that playing football as a team was more important than having your picture taken. Oh wait. It is.

[Rastak]

I thought this was kinda weird....

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?[ntid=141545&ntpid=2




Jackson wasn't the only one who missed his team's minicamp because of the event; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez and Chicago Bears tight end Greg Olsen and running back Garrett Wolfe also were absent from their clubs' workouts.

The NFL warned teams in advance that players would have to attend the event - the Detroit Lions, for example, moved their minicamp so wide receiver Calvin Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick, could participate - but the Packers were under the impression Jackson would be excused after telling the league he'd rather attend minicamp than the event, which paid him $12,000.




The league told McCarthy he had to attend ahead of time and he thought the NFL was joking?


Kinda old news now but I thought that was really strange.

[HarveyWallbangers]

The league told McCarthy he had to attend ahead of time and he thought the NFL was joking?

Like Ziggy said in the previous post, I'd think the Packers had a misunderstanding about whether it was a mandatory or voluntary event.