NFLPA files complaint re: Butler

Deus Irae said:

There's no "technically" about it. It's a clear violation of the plain text of the CBA. The question is whether or not the Patriots can massage their defense so that the actions could be considered 'technically' acceptable.

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So was Woody's tampering statement. Look what that amounted to.

But in the end, some sort of common sense has to assert itself. Butler has every right to have missed the practice, but you would think BB would have the right as a HC to keep him from other voluntary practices, since having missed one, Butler would be behind and his reps would be wasted until he caught up. Perhaps the better way would have been to let him dress, and just watch, and not waste reps on him. The results are the same, but the Pats wouldn't have "violated" the CBA.

Once again strict legality trumps common sense. The rule needs to be massaged or eliminated (like the old "blue laws"). But until that time, in order to keep "labor peace", the Pats need to be minimally penalized. Proving not all the Pats haters are in the league office. As Shakespeare would have said, "much ado about nothing"

just tired of this crap off season. just tell the patriots team to take an year off , whole team suspended for everything going in the league.

I can't believe some of you are being so soft about this. Who cares if other teams/fans hate us for this ****? Our team has always thrived on this and they love playing the "us against the world" card.

The penalty for this won't be that harsh.

Time to embrace the villain role.

robertweathers said:

Bill stepped out of bounds on this one. If he made Malcolm sit for a day none of this would have happened..

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Hard to believe that almost anything regarding player discipline would not be run by the team lawyers first. After the deflategate BS I would have imagined they crossed very T and dotted every I. If not, they deserved to be fired because they aren't doing their jobs properly.

Seriously. It would be like driving drunk the day you got released from jail for driving drunk.

ctpatsfan77 said:

He was on the field before the end of OTAs.

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So much for that theory. Thanks.

Voluntary doesn't mean come and go as you please. If your not on time for whatever reason, you miss being involved in whatever was planned and organized. It is for team activities, not waiting around for individuals to arrive. Butler was still in the meetings, he was only excluded from the teams field work! He wasn't thrown out of the building! He should be embarrassed by the attention this is causing!

Patstopia said:

Voluntary doesn't mean come and go as you please. If your not on time for whatever reason, you miss being involved in whatever was planned and organized. It is for team activities, not waiting around for individuals to arrive. Butler was still in the meetings, he was only excluded from the teams field work! He wasn't thrown out of the building! He should be embarrassed by the attention this is causing!

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Thats the only gray area here that the Pats can argue. It's voluntary as it relates to attendance. It does not mean the player has the option to participate in certain team-run activities and their scheduled time.

Malcolm was late to OTAs. He made the commitment to be there. His arrival did not jive with the Pats' schedule. BB saw that as a violation of team rules. The problem is that it didn't line up with the CBA.

Deus Irae said:

You cannot penalize a player for missing voluntary activities. That's what was done.

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The didn't penalize him for missing activities, they penalized him for showing up late and the penalty was the same as if he didn't show up.

Not sure it was really a violation. Does the CBA define what a "punishment" is? Not participating in a voluntary workout doesn't sound like a punishment.

ctpatsfan77 said:

I don't quite think that's their argument. The point is the CBA says you can't punish them for not showing up (or, in this case, not showing up on time), since it is a voluntary activity. I don't know what happened here, exactly, but obviously it's not simple (since Butler isn't actually a party to the complaint; it appears to be purely an NFLPA thing).

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I guess it is simply an argument about the meaning of "punishment." To me it would mean suspending him or fining him, and my understanding neither happened. He was allowed to be at the facility and use it and I don't believe there was any monetary sanction, but to tell a coach they have to include them in team drills when he wasn't there for the start of camp opens a Pandora's box related to how coaches go about their business. I see sitting a player as a coaches prerogative and not a punishment unless there is a monetary loss involved. I still think Belichick was harsh but he didn't overstep his authority imo.

Froob said:

Not sure it was really a violation. Does the CBA define what a "punishment" is? Not participating in a voluntary workout doesn't sound like a punishment.

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I was thinking the exact same thing. How has Butler been "punished"? Was he suspended? Fined? Cut? Dropped on the depth chart? No, he wasn't any of those things. I know we see being excluded from OTA's as a punishment but I am wondering from the point of view of the CBA and all the technicalities, how have they been "punishing" him?

I do not think Belichick handled this well, but I think the goal was to give the kid some "tough love" so he doesn't have a yearlong Super Bowl hangover.

belichick should of never punished bulter in the first place.
more arrogance from bill. what kind of message does this send? none...so tedious

Gronkowski123 said:

belichick should of never punished bulter in the first place.
more arrogance from bill. what kind of message does this send? none...so tedious

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If you heard the snippets coming out about why it was something along these lines:

Active off season for Butler. SB hero, head may not be on straight.
Rumbling from some players about the NFL investigation and possibly Krafts capitulation
Setting the example that if you want to see the field, then you better do what you can to be here.

I bet the Pats have a list of who has committed to be there. If you say you are, voluntary or not, and you don't show up you deserve some sort of discipline.

Frankly an additional reason that I'm annoyed with Bill about this is that he should have realized the spotlight is on us and we are the whipping boys for the NFL and the media. Why draw any more negative attention? It achieved nothing whatsoever aside from sitting out our (likely) best cornerback when we are already paper thin at the position.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/boston/chat/_/id/51864

Tom (Miami)


Mike what are your thoughts on this complaint filed by the NFLPA on behalf of Butler? The last thing we need is a rift between the Pats and their, likely, most talented remaining CB.

Mike
(3:11 PM)


Tom, the first thing to know is that Butler isn't behind the complaint. In fact, his name isn't on it because he said he had no problem with the discipline. So this isn't Butler vs. Patriots. It's NFLPA vs. Patriots, with the NFLPA representing the interests of all players. The way this offseason has gone, I don't think anyone should be surprised if there is a ruling against the Patriots. At the same time, I hope others point out that a more obvious "violation" of this exact rule happened with the Titans and Shonn Greene, who didn't attend any voluntary workouts and then was cut (he was probably going to be cut anyway, but it highlights the gray area with this topic). If we're going to be fair on the issue, I hope we're looking at all 32 teams in this area, not just one that is an easy target.

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FourierSeries said:

I can't believe some of you are being so soft about this. Who cares if other teams/fans hate us for this ****? Our team has always thrived on this and they love playing the "us against the world" card.

The penalty for this won't be that harsh.

Time to embrace the villain role.

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Sorry but no. The New England Patriots have been nothing but a model organization over the past 15 years. We have done nothing to justify a "bad boy" reputation. How about all those teams that still have publicly known rapists, wife beaters, and murderers on their teams? Why aren't they considered the villains of the league? What has this team done to warrant anyone hating us besides perhaps being smug about winning a lot?

Such bulls***. Butler showed up late and didn't see the field for a few practices but participated in everything else. Get over it.

Pats get punished for this it's the NFL and NFLPA basically saying players can do whatever the hell they want at OTAs with no fear because it's voluntary.

Show up halfway through an OTA session? "I don't need an excuse, this is voluntary"
Get told to run a lap? "Screw you coach, I don't have to, this is voluntary"
Don't want to participate in a certain drill? "Nah I think i'll skip this one because it's voluntary"

Yet where's the NFLPA complaint against the Jaguars for when the #3 pick in the draft got injured? Oh is him being out for the season punishment enough? Great double standard this league has.

FourierSeries said:

I can't believe some of you are being so soft about this. Who cares if other teams/fans hate us for this ****? Our team has always thrived on this and they love playing the "us against the world" card.

The penalty for this won't be that harsh.

Time to embrace the villain role.

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If only we could photoshop Kraft out...

SVN said:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/boston/chat/_/id/51864

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Here's part of the rule

or that a player’s failure to participate in a workout program or classroom instruction will result in the player’s failure to make the Club


So where's the NFLPA complaint against the Titans?

VectorPrime said:

Sorry but no. The New England Patriots have been nothing but a model organization over the past 15 years. We have done nothing to justify a "bad boy" reputation. How about all those teams that still have publicly known rapists, wife beaters, and murderers on their teams? Why aren't they considered the villains of the league? What has this team done to warrant anyone hating us besides perhaps being smug about winning a lot?

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It's because those other teams are irrelevant. No one cares enough to portray them as villains.

They hate cause they ain't us. I'm fine with that.