Texans players are anxious to see what unfolds in the coming months as the NFL Players Association deals with suggestions from one of its player representatives to replace executive director Gene Upshaw before his contract expires. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5688863.html ******************************* I dunno, what's this hassle about ?
I saw something about this on NFLN the other night. There appears to be a group of players that want Upshaw gone before the next confrontation with the owners, but it does not seem like they have a majority to pull it off. All I know is I heard a potential 'work stoppage' could happen in a couple of years. If it does....who knows.
Just heard one of the Chiefs Olineman (The LG, can't remember his name) talking about it on the radio...Says that the media is adding a hollywood element to the story and said that is completely false... Something about a new rule about not being able to hold the president position past 65, and that the e-mail in question was written in regards to when they were going to start the process of finding Upshaw's replacement...Says that they are not currently seeking to oust Upshaw.. He explained it very clearly and I believe him...Supposedly ESPN and other media outlets are backing off thier reports a bit...
KGOW had Kailee Wong on this morning, and brought it up with him. He brought up the Union's 401K plan, and complained mightily about it saying that even though they were buying "In bulk", they were paying retail. Either I completely misunderstood what he said (certainly a realistic possibility), I don't know how mutual funds work (buying them in bulk?), or he was off base completely. If there's anybody else who listened, and can explain what his complaint was, I woud appreciate it. (I'm intentionally ignoring the fact that the 401K contribution limit is $15,500 annually (2007), since Kailee seemed pretty upset about it).
There are some ex players that despise Upshaw, including Joe Delumuillire (sp) of the Bills. He and others have accused Upshaw of using the NFLPA as their own playground. Furthermore, he has accused Upshaw of several offenses... 1) Still the only league with no guaranteed contracts and the lowest lifespan of career of any major sport (3.5 years). He believes Upshaw has given in like a good little ***** to NFL owners and commissioners for too long. 2) Gotten all over Upshaw over pensions, specifically the fact that pensions don't kick in until you're 55 when the average player from the 60s and 70s dies at 54.5. 3) Has the same agent (Tom Condon) as players, and that agent has the highest number of players currently playing in the NFL, calling it an incredible conflict of interest. 4) Accused Upshaw of making real threats against him and his family as a result of this feud. Because the problems of ex-players has been brought to the forefront by Kyle Turley, Ditka etc., this is a story with real teeth. Upshaw has run the union for 24 years and players still don't have a guaranteed contract? Something is wrong as hell about that.
