I wish I was posting about a FA I really wanted to sign but, "The Times They Are A Changing." Does anyone like this guy or, think he is doing a good job? I had the utmost of respect and admiration for Gene Upshaw. He played the game, and knew the players. This guy pales in comparison. JMO
There are rumors the guy gets off on litigation. If even remotely true this 'thing" will take a while.
I didn't really like Upshaw, but by comparison there's really no comparison. I still wish the NFLPA would have hired Troy Vincent.
douchebag, does that explain how i feel? but i also feel jerry jones is douchebag n is causing alot of this due to the shared rev w other owners
Ive been saying since this crap started that he was camera hungry, literally, I have seen him jockey for position.....talkin to us like ''I know the fans ''dig'' our game, so were working hard''.....ahhhh stfu... another thing, kevin mawae is pissed off, and thats not good...Players could care less about this offseason, i would bet part of their plan was to extend this all along throughout the offseason because they just dont wanna be part of an offseason program... Were gonna have a bunch of fat asses playing football next year, just like they like it...If they want to get paid more, than as an owner I would say, ok, then our company gets to monitor your exercise and diet program to a tee all offseason, and if you dont follow it,you will be docked pay...A lot of these jerks cant even come into camp in shape..Which to me is a grotesque display of laziness and ungratefulness..
DeMaurice Smith is a trial lawyer, former Assistant US Attorney under President Clinton, and has a number of political connections. The guy was always going to jump off the cliff and pull strings in DC to get what he wants. The point of wanting to see the NFL’s books, IMO, was to conduct a shakedown, not to negotiate a fair deal. And he keeps reinforcing my view of him daily. Via PFT: THE WORST DEAL IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS! As Rosenthal correctly notes, I bet the players who were around in the ‘60s and ‘70s would have something to say about that. But hey, Gene Upshaw once said he doesn’t represent former players, and apparently Smith agrees.
The guy comes across as a real ***. I think he is leading the players down a very bad path by not negotiating.
It's really irrelevant what we think of Smith. He is paid to represent the interests of the players, not the fans. If a hard-line stance or litigation is probably going to result in the best outcome for the players, then it is his obligation to go that route, period. I don't think him playing the game and knowing the players is a big advantage when the retired guys he played with didn't seem to care much for him. Not to mention pretty consistent rumblings about the active players not liking Upshaw.
Those are the worst kind. These types of lawyers are what ruins the legal system. They will twist every loophole possible to manipulate law and stretch it into benefitting clients in a way the law was never intended to.
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." ~ Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare's King Henry VI
Everybody hates lawyers till they need one. Everyone is for tort reform until something horrible happens to them. DeMaurice Smith is doing a great job, whether he uses the word "dig" or not. The owners want to take money away from the players PLUS make them play more games. D. is standing strong.
The 18 game season was taken off the table. By the way, Smith does not appear to be opposed to an 18 game season.
I'm not a billionaire, so I have no sympathy for billionaire owners. And the majority of players aren't millionaires. I agree that it doesn't matter what I think, he was hired for the players, not the fans. Until a single game gets canceled, I'm not upset with either side. They have time to play their negotiation games. Just don't get so prideful, greedy, or stubborn that when a good deal is on the table in August both sides don't just agree to something. Even if it is just a 1-year extension. Cancel a single game and you'll lose more from the fans than you'll lose from the other side of the negotiating table.
I really think they set the bar fairly high in hopes of getting it back to around 51 percent to the owners, 49 to the players. So the 18 percent decrease would be more like 5 percent.
Hopefully they work out a new CBA so there is also time to properly prepare for the season, or we will likely be less than pleased with the product put on the field in the early going and we could also see an increase in injuries.
Remember that 25% is split between over 700 players. By the way instead of calling players greedy, this just shows how underpaid most American workers are. If the workers shared more of the wealth, the economy would be humming along. As it is now, companies are sitting on tons of cash instead of investing on workers because there is no incentive to hire more people right now. I hope most Americans are enjoying the "Mexification" of the American economy, where a few have a lot and most workers struggle to make a living wage.
The fact that you honestly don't believe him honestly frightens me. Over the past 10 years there has been the greatest re-distribution of wealth in America. All the statistics show that the rich have gotten MUCH richer.
Don't speak for me. This country is full of P.O.S.'s who will sue at the drop of the hat, but I'm not one of them. The year I got out of the Marine Corps I worked for a guy who, unbeknown to me at the time, didn't have workman's comp for his employees. I got half of my little finger on my left hand ripped off at work. The owner was a great guy and a hard worker who busted his *** to keep his business going. Out of his own pocket he paid for all of my medical bills (including the reattachment of my finger) and he paid me a wage while I was recovering. Now, I'm sure some people would have tried to sue him for more money (and most likely would have gotten some due to him not having workman's comp and the equipment that injured me wasn't properly rigged with all the safety features), but I chose to work there and use that equipment and I will NEVER try and get something that I haven't earned. Him paying my medical bills and covering my wages while I was out was plenty fair. It's a shame that most people don't think that way.
It's not 25%. That was PhinsRDbest saying that he'd be happy with half of what the players get from their business owners.
It does if you look hard enough. The Bush tax cuts hurt the middle and lower class by putting more of the tax burden on them. A couple of years ago Warren Buffet, he who is the richest man on the Earth or close to it, thought it was outrageous that he pays about 30% of his income in taxes after his allowed loopholes, while someone earning about $ 50,000 had to pay closer to 35 to 40%. That sir, is why many right-minded people were against the Bush tax cuts. Flat rates sales taxes kill working people. That is included in that 35-40 number. If you take two people, one who makes $ 1,000,000 and have him buy a top line Whirlpool refrigerator that costs $ 2,000, and someone who makes $ 25,000 and have them buy the el cheapo $ 400 Kenmore from Sears. At a sales tax of 7.75% that makes the rich guys total tax $ 155 or .015% of his income. On the other hand, the poor person will pay in sales tax $ 31 or .124% of his income, almost 10 times as much as the rich person. Where is this fair ? Why isn't the tax burden the same for all citizens ? Each breathes the same air, goes to the same schools and uses the same roads. In the 1950's & 1960's what made this country GREAT was the expanded middle class. The theory that more people sharing great wealth in turn made the country's economy bigger & better. Now we have seen a reversal in this conception that the rich must constantly be made richer and those that actually produce the wealth should receive less and less of those profits. News flash to those who wish for this to become the 2nd Mexico.......THE FRENCH REVOLUTION !!!!! It was brought on by a system that taxed the poor peasants only and no taxation for the noble class or the church. That is what is slowly happening here in the US yet people are too dumb to see it and want to stop it.
Exactly......that amount whatever it is, is divided among 700+ players. The owners are making outrageous profits already, and are just being greedy. They claim to have stadium debts to pay. That is their problem, not the players. No one forced these owners into getting new stadiums. Unless the old ones were unsafe then they didn't need them. It was because of greed and needing new stadiums that have more & more luxury boxes....if you really do look, most of the new stadiums overall capacity is slightly less than it used to be. It was all for the luxury box money, which by the way, I don't know if that is actually shared with the players or not. Someone else might have that answer. I would also like to see the list of stadiums that were publicaly financed and those that are privately owned. I don't understand the owners calling for stadium debt relief if their new digs were paid for on the backs of working class wage earners.
It frightens me more to see this country slipping into 3rd world classification, and the citizens of this country being brainwashed by one political party into thinking that its actually a good thing. If you can't see the middle class of this country disappearing before your eyes, you are just turning a blind eye.
Reread his post. He's talking about regressive redistribution and not redistribution of wealth. So, not only does his wording not make sense, he's wrong. How is the same sales tax not fair? lol... What's "not fair" in the eyes of some people is that more often than not, the HARD WORKING and SMARTER people make more money and are more successful than the LAZY and STUPID. Of course there are exceptions. Some people like to make believe that anyone, if given the "chance", can become a doctor or business owner or college prof. In reality, some people are just too stupid or lazy, even if given the chance for a FREE college education, to accomplish any of those things. The REAL world is not butterflies and fairytales. The REAL world is competitive and hard. Today, 44% of all American households earn, on average, $85,000 per year. I believe something like 54% of American's are considered "middle class". In the 1950's Middle Class was about 58% of the population. In fact , by 1960, 35 million Americans ( ~ 25%) lived in poverty. In 2009 that same number was 44 million or 15% of the country. Today, 8% of all American households earn $240,000 per year on average.
Who's greedy? How much money is "too much"? Where is the line between "outrageous" profits and "regular"profits? Why is there a line? How did you come up with this line? The players are also making a lot of money. Why should an employee make more than the employer?
This is less sociological or economic analysis built on facts and more a repetition of a political article of faith meant to build reliable voting demographics. Not to mention that this particular article of faith is admitted by some of those behind it to be built on racism. And what does it actually have to do with DeMaurice Smith?
where in the costitution state the more successful shiuld equalize for those that arent? cmparing sales taxes paid to % of income is idiotic. the point of sales tax is more pay into the pot, no morre under the table, no more net losses. u?think middle class would pay more? what a joke
Can I have links to your 25% poverty rate number please ? Can I also have links to your claim that 8% of American households earn $ 240,000 ? I suspect these are made up numbers so I would like to see the proof. Lack of finding CREDIBLE sources for this (not right-wing nutbag Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck inspired links) but independent sources would be appreciated. The fact is the government has only kept records since 1959 on poverty and the rate at that time was about 13.7 %. Its now at or near record levels since those records have been kept. No actual statistics were kept from the 1930's but I would suspect the numbers were worse than even today's horrible numbers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39123485/ns/us_news/ Sir if you really believe things are getting better, and that working people have more buying power than 10 or 15 years ago, you are the one that is living in a world full of butterfly's and fairytales. I would suggest getting out into the real world, go down to the Miami Rescue Mission or Camilus House and see the people that are lining up for a free meal. Many who used to have decent paying jobs are now begging for free meals. I have volunteered for years at the Miami Rescue Mission and with my church (Sts. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church in Miami), and I have never seen as many people asking for help. And if you think these people are lazy & stupid, then you are crazy. Many of them have had to work 2 if not 3 jobs just to keep themselves above water and not out on the street. Also when working 3 jobs it leaves zero time to go to school. I know one lady who was working for the U of Miami during the day cleaning the school, and then working at night cleaning at Baptist Hospital and on weekends cleaning several peoples houses and she was barely making enough money to feed her 3 kids and keep a roof over her head. Sje was not an alcoholic, or a drug addict. She worked at least 90 hours a week and was up at 5am every morning and to bed never before 12am. That sir is the fate of many who try to climb out of poverty. Its damn near impossible.
Racism??!?! LMFAO!! Anything to pull out the race card huh? **** the race card. People who use the race card are weak. As for what my post has to do with D. Smith...why not ask the poster who wrote the post I replied to? Huh? Are you racist are something? hahahhahah!!!
