If the Globe is right - New England Patriots Forums

***betterthanthealternative*** · 09-12-2009, 05:57 AM

And a union victory in the grievance could overturn the trade (the logic of which I don't get, but that's another matter), and that takes place after Seymour practices and/or plays for Oakland, how does that work?

***pats1*** · 09-12-2009, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by betterthanthealternative

And a union victory in the grievance could overturn the trade (the logic of which I don't get, but that's another matter), and that takes place after Seymour practices and/or plays for Oakland, how does that work?

A union victory in the grievance would not overturn the trade. It would only say that the Raiders can not send him a five-day letter.

SeauOUCH · 09-12-2009, 07:02 AM

It will never happen so don't worry about it. No way in hell Seymour wins this grievance, Oakland owns the contract they send the letter.

***mgteich*** · 09-12-2009, 07:05 AM

Thank you for your expect opinion. Surely you are a sports contract attorney or at least an agent.

Oh, and BTW, you do understand that Seymour has not filed any grievance. The NFLPA has filed one seeking to clarify Oakland's right to send a letter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeauOUCH

It will never happen so don't worry about it. No way in hell Seymour wins this grievance, Oakland owns the contract they send the letter.

SeauOUCH · 09-12-2009, 07:10 AM

Yes I know the union filed the grievance & there is no way in hell they will win. I'm not an attorney but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

captain insano · 09-12-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeauOUCH

Yes I know the union filed the grievance & there is no way in hell they will win. I'm not an attorney but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

lmao

***mgteich*** · 09-12-2009, 07:17 AM

Apparently, you ahve no knowledge of the details of the grievance or the clause of the CBA that is being questioned. It seems a bit strange to abslutely know the result of a grievance without even knowing what is period argued.

Or perhaps, you just don't like the idea that players have representation by their union.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeauOUCH

Yes I know the union filed the grievance & there is no way in hell they will win. I'm not an attorney but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

***patchick*** · 09-12-2009, 07:24 AM

I don't see that the grievance actually has anything to say about the trade at all. From what's been reported, nobody is claiming that the trade wasn't legitimate; it's a procedural matter about the 5-day letter.

In my non-professional opinion, it would be simply nonsensical for an arbitrator to rule that NEITHER team has the right to send a letter that is procedurally required. If they rule that Oakland may not send it, then New England must. This could help Seymour's attempts to slow the process to a crawl and piss everybody off, but it doesn't seem like a substantive change in a player's rights.

klinefan · 09-12-2009, 07:24 AM

It is an interesting question...hopefully the league will rule and clear up some things.

Some reports INITIALLY said that the Pats would send the letter as he's still their player. BB seemed to think he was not. Ultimately the Raiders sent the letter.

So the question is...WHO does a player belong to AFTER he's been traded but BEFORE he's had his physical?

I think the league will say he belongs to the Raiders. If they don't, then the Pats would have to have been the ones to send the letter...they would send a letter telling him to report to Oakland and if he doesn't, then the Pats would put him on the reserve list for the year...ie he'd still be a pat in 2010.

I think the league would want to avoid that. They would want to avoid a player simply not showing up for a physical and remaining on his original team.

***MoLewisrocks*** · 09-12-2009, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgteich

Thank you for your expert opinion, without any cites of the CBA and without any references to statements of those who know the facts. Surely you are a sports contract attorney or at least an agent.

Oh, and BTW, you do understand that Seymour has not filed any grievance. The NFLPA has filed one seeking to clarify Oakland's right to send a letter.

The union can only file a grievance on behalf of a player. (Per the NFLPA fwiw...).

Quote:

What is a grievance?

A grievance is a dispute between a player and a club or the League concerning individual contract or CBA provisions. The NFLPA normally represents the individual player in his grievance, and is successful in considerably more than half of the cases. Filing a grievance is a legally guaranteed right of the player, so long as the grievance has merit. A player cannot be discriminated against for filing a claim. There are two types of grievances.

An injury grievance applies when a player is released by a team while he is still suffering from an injury. A typical injury grievance involves a player who comes to camp, passes the physical, later suffers an injury or re-injury, and then is cut by the team the same year. To have a valid injury grievance, the player must file within twenty-five (25) days of when he is released by the club. If a player wins an injury grievance, he gets the salary he would have received if the club had kept him until he was healthy. However, he can only win salary for the year he is injured, and not for any subsequent years.

The non-injury grievance procedure applies to most other disputes between players and clubs. Examples of non-injury grievances include:

* a player challenges a fine or suspension by his club;

* a player claims an incentive bonus clause which is disputed by the club;

* a player can't play because of a previous year's injury and claims the collectively-bargained Injury Protection Benefit.

For non-injury grievances (most other cases), a player must file within forty-five (45) days from the date when the dispute arises. For example, a player who files a grievance over a club fine would need to file his case within forty-five days of when the fine was imposed by the head coach.