NFL lockout 2011: judge says mediation should start now

NFL lockout 2011 goes into mediation

The NFL lockout talks could resume on Thursday as a federal judge issued an order for the league owners and players to sit down once again to resolve the dispute with the aid of a court-appointed mediator.

Talks have collapsed earlier after the two sides failed to come up with a new arrangement on how to share the $9 billion in annual revenue generated by the NFL.

Team owners imposed an NFL lockout after the failure of the collective bargaining agreement talks. The players responded by decertifying the players union and filing an antitrust suit against the league, further complicating the NFL lockout.

"This mediation will not have the effect of a stay on this litigation," U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said in her decision. "The players' motion for a preliminary injunction remains under advisement."

Judge Nelson appointed U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan as mediator to resolve the NFL lockout which could scrap the upcoming football season. Boylan will meet with players tomorrow and the NFL the next day, before convening a meeting with both sides on April 14.

The players consented to this route after making sure that mediation "will not be used against them in any way," NFL lawyer David Boies said in a court filing. "We are not asking the players in any way to abandon their chosen litigation forum or to compromise any of their legal claims."

A separate antitrust case filed by former league players was consolidated into the antitrust suit by current players led by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. The NFL Draft 2011 will be held as scheduled on April 28 in spite of the NFL lockout.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Tuesday April 12 2011, 12:08 AM EDT. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0