Surprises in My Meeting with NFL Union Leader

Yesterday, I sat in on a conversation with the Executive Director of the NFL players union, DeMaurice Smith.

Here are some brief impressions and surprises.

He acknowledged it’s very hard to get players even to contemplate a strike. That likely means that Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, has the same sense. That puts the union at a significant disadvantage in bargaining its next labor agreement. The surprise is that he openly acknowledged this reality.

Smith also said that NFL locker rooms are filled with players who are more interested in lowering their taxes than thinking like a union brother. That’s not too surprising since most of these players don’t come from union households where they might develop working class values. The surprise is Smith’s characterization of many of his members as tax-conscious Republicans.

Smith said that because of this mindset, the union is somewhat limited in taking on broad social justice causes. The kneeling protest is an exception, along with its embedded message of racial injustice. But this is not a union geared to supporting Fight for $15 for low-wage workers, and Smith implied as much. The surprise is that Smith said that his union has formally rejoined the AFL-CIO, and he on the AFL-CIO executive board. This means that Smith is trying to broaden the support for his union within the ranks of labor.

The biggest surprise was Smith’s extended discussion about the possibility of removing all player agents from the apparatus of player-team dealings. Instead, he’d like to hire a cadre of agents and subsume all player bargaining within the union. Smith makes two points here: first, players would save lots of money that they now spend on agents, and second, if the union had control over negotiations, no one would sign a contract that isn’t 100% guaranteed. That would be a very big deal because most players, even stars, rarely receive fully guaranteed contracts. By the way, there is ample Supreme Court authority to allow the union to take agents entirely out of the picture.

Smith didn’t comment at all on Colin Kaepernick. Perhaps he did at another point in the meeting after I stepped out. His union is not representing Kaepernick. The quarterback has hired outside counsel. But all of this is a tell-tale sign that there is some friction within player ranks and the players union about Kaepernick.

Smith added this mildly surprising analysis about Donald Trump’s insertion into the kneeling protest, stating that Trump’s use of the term son-of-bitches inflamed many players because they heard it in such deeply personal ways. Many players were raised in a single parent home. They heard Trump calling their moms “bitches.” Those are fighting words.

And in the final surprise of the meeting, Smith said that NFL locker rooms and practice fields are largely devoid of cursing. Few, if any coaches, swear at players. Times have changed. The players and the coaches co-manage an environment that is very public, where egos and reputations are very important. Cursing doesn’t fit anymore. In contrast, the current president finds occasions to curse in public (e.g., “sons of bitches” and “shithole” nations).