Apr 11, 2011
Judge: Mediation between NFL, players to begin on Thursday
03:26 PM
Federal Judge Susan Nelson appointed chief magistrate judge Arthur Boylan to serve as a mediator between the NFL and NFL Players Association on Monday.
Boylan will conduct his first session with the sides on Thursday in his chambers in St. Paul, Minn. He will meet with each side individually -- the players on Tuesday and the league on Wednesday -- prior to that.
This will be the second attempt at mediation between the sides. The first came for more than two weeks until the March 11 breakdown in talks and resulting lockout imposed by NFL owners.
This mediation, coming under Nelson's order, will be monitored and enforceable by the court, however.
It must remain confidential, Nelson ordered. She also said that the details of the negotiations won't be available for either side to use as ammunition in court going forward.
Nelson said the mediation will not interrupt her plans to rule on the players' request for an injunction to end the lockout. She said last week she expected to take about two weeks to rule. On Monday, she added that ruling would come "in due course."
Sports business analyst Andrew Brandt, a former executive with the Green Bay Packers who's now the president of the National Football Post, said on Twitter he was not optimistic the mediation would lead to a real solution.
Said Brandt:
"Like a set-up date for people with no interest in each other."
Nelson held a hearing last Wednesday on the players' request -- as part of their antitrust suit against the NFL -- to end the lockout. She at first advised the sides to enter mediation, and the NFL said it wanted it to occur in Washington while the players sought it at the judge's home turf in Minnesota.
See photos of: NFL
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