THE INFLUENCE GAME: NFL union seeks Congress' help

[Omaha Steve]

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WASHINGTON (AP) — If the National Football League could throw a penalty flag at the players union, it would be for political interference.

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FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2010 file photo, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith speaks in St Paul, Minn. The NFL Players Association has turned to Congress for help in preventing an owners' lockout next season, drafting letters for lawmakers to send to the league and holding a briefing for members of Congress and their aides on the economic impact of a labor dispute, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig, File)


The NFL Players Association has turned to Congress for help in preventing team owners from locking out union members next season. Steps the union has taken include drafting letters for lawmakers to send to the league and holding a briefing for members of Congress and their aides on the economic impact of a labor dispute, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The union's adversary on Capitol Hill, NFL lobbyist Jeff Miller, argued that Congress isn't in a position to resolve the dispute and that trying to pull lawmakers into it is out of bounds.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — An occasional look at how behind-the-scenes influence is exercised in Washington.

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"There's an opportunity for us and the players to work this out at the negotiating table," he said. "That's the avenue to pursue."

One union-drafted letter asks Commissioner Roger Goodell to commit to no lockout next year — and, failing that, seeks a batch of information from the league, including each team's financial statements and salary figures of top officials as well as information on government subsidies for stadium construction and renovation.

The union found no takers for that letter, but it did get Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., to write to Goodell and the union expressing concern about the economic impact of a lockout and urging both sides to reach an agreement. LeMieux's letter, sent in August, contains passages nearly identical to a draft letter circulated by the union, including this section: "I understand that you are currently engaged in negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, and I do not seek to interject myself into those discussions. However, on behalf of fans, businesses and communities, I urge you to sit down now to work out whatever differences you might have."

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