Brees And Manning Mocked

Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Peyton Manning were mocked by Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson. Why would other players care? Richardson mocked the players during a Feb. 5 negotiating session with the NFL Players Association. The lack of respect on the part of Richardson toward the quarterbacks might help cement the players union even more in the ongoing labor dispute with the owners. Here is more from Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports.

 "[Richardson] was extremely condescending to them, especially toward Peyton," a source said. "[Richardson] was the only person on either side who was contentious. Everybody else was respectful. They might have said, ' disagree with your point,' but at least they were respectful. [Richardson] was not."

Apparently, Richardson was particularly sarcastic when Manning started to talk about players' safety. At one point, Richardson evidently said, "What do you know about player safety?"

Richardson was unavilable for comment. A league source denied that there was any contentious discussion between the team owner and anyone from the union's side.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-richardsonmanning021311

Richardson was unofficially selected by some of the other owners to be main "voice" representing them in the labor dispute. Insulting players in a condescending manner will not help the owners get anywhere with the players union. What the owners need is more voices like that of Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who had many things to say about the dispute.

"We should have a deal. We should not let the disruption of next season happen because of a lockout, a strike, or whatever. ... It's in everybody's best interest to get a deal," says Rooney. "The players, of course, want to play, and that's what should happen. The games this year couldn't be better. The ratings are high. So why would you step back? I don’t know the personalities. There is maybe distrust. Maybe dislike is a better word. But that’s beyond. You have a situation like this, you’ve got to get a deal. You’ve got to forget personalities.”

Apparently Richardson didn't get the memo from Rooney. But Dan Rooney is opposed to many of the other owner's viewpoints. For instance, in regards to an 18 game season, Rooney claimed he would rather not get the extra money from a longer schedule, and just wants a deal to get done.

Unfortunately for those who are hoping for a new CBA, Dan Rooney is the U.S. ambassador to Ireland, meaning he has many other duties and will not get involved in any of the contract talks. That's too bad. Jerry Richardson could learn something from an owner that has been involved with his own franchise and the NFL for 50+ years.