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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1982)
sports Battalion/Page 12 September 21 NFL strike! Players stage first walkout in league’s history; no talks scheduled United Press International NEW YORK — The first in- season strike in the 63-year his tory of the National Football League is underway and all that players and owners agree on is that their game will suffer. Cleveland Browns principal owner Art Modell called it a “sad day for pro football, for all the people involved, including the fans.” The strike, called Monday by unanimous vote of the nine- member NFL Players Associa tion Executive Committee, be gan immediately following Monday night’s game between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. No talks have been scheduled. Although the players realized a strike was possible since the basic agreement with the league expired July 15, many never thought they’d be out of work. “My first gut feeling was that this would never happen,” said Drew Pearson, a wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys for 10 years. “But now that it has, my first gut feeling is that they can get this worked out by Friday if they get together and start talking.” Settling the strike rests with the NFLPA, headed by execu tive director Ed Garvey, and the NFL Management Council, whose executive director is Jack Donlan. The sides have been talking sporadically for seven months. The latest negotiations broke off Friday when the Management Council rejected the players’ E roposal for 50 percent of the ;ague’s television revenues over four years, which total nearly $1.6 billion. Before the 1982 season, the NFL signed a five- year television contract with the three major networks for $2.1 billion. The players initially deman ded 55 percent of the owners’ gross revenues before switching their bargaining strategy. Houston Oilers general man ager Ladd Herzeg said he will recommend that the season be terminated if the impending strike eliminated four or more games. Herzeg and coaches Dick Vermeil of Philadelphia, Joe Gibbs of Washington and Mike Ditka of Chicago indicated they had no desire to continue the season with non-union players and strike-breakers. “I have no interest at all in coaching a scab football team,” Vermeil said. “Maybe (NFL commissioner) P£te Rozelle can make me, but right now I’d re fuse. Can you imagine taking a scab football team and charging people to see them?” Both sides claim to be finan- Cowboys advised to condition Landry hopes strike ends quickly dally prepared. The Manage ment Council has arranged for a $150 million line of credit from a consortium of banks to cover losses, which Garvey estimates will range from $ 1.2 to $ 1.5 mil lion per team for each home game lost. The players will not be paid during the strike but NFLPA president Gene Upshaw said a strike fund has been set up and “we have enough to hold out for as long as it takes.” In the last labor strike involv ing professional athletes, major league baseball players stayed out for 50 days last year from June 12-July 31, canceling 706 games — 38 percent of the season. The strike announcement was made by Upshaw after 2 hours and 10 minutes of met ings among executive comt tee and union officials Monit The union’s stand is that thing less than a strike willbi management to the bargain; table. 76 T “Management’s illegal refc to bargain with us last Frida' bargain collectively with us, brought this,” Upshaw said, are united and this comes i no pleasure whatsoever.” TheT eceder hment The first game to be affec r un i V i will be Thursday night’s gam , n on c Kansas City between the Cb (ember and the Atlanta Falcons ! game, which was to have Is iTues' televised nationally by ABC,! been replaced by a movie, 1 jgislat Cheap Detective United Press International DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry says he doubts players can work hard enough on their own to stay in shape during the strike-forced layoff period, which begins today. “I’m sure a lot of them will (work out on their own), but a lot of them won’t very hard,” he said. “Conditioning is a very hard thing to do. It is hard to motivate yourself hard enough to play pro football.” Before the players left the training facility Monday, Land ry told them to do the best they could to stay in condition. Landry said he had no idea how long the strike might last, but said it seemed clear there would be no games this weekend. “I’m sure we will be out of this next game (which for the Cow boys would have been in Minne sota),” Landry said. “You don’t have a real incentive to get a game plan ready. And after Sunday’s game we will start mak ing a game plan for the Giants.” And he also expressed con cern that the players would, in deed, do their best to stay in shape. Running back Tony Dorsett said Monday he and his team mates would try to stay in condi tion, but if the walkout lasts more than two weeks it would probably be every man for him self. “If it lasts more than two weeks, I’m gone,” Dorsett said as members of the Cowboys gathered up their belongings and filed out. of the Cowboys’ practice facility. “I’ve got to get on and do things I need to do in. my own life. If it stretches out for a cou- E le of weeks I imagine we will egin to disperse.” Many teams in the NFL take Monday off, but the Cowboys’ schedule calls for a Monday workout and an off day on Tues- day. Thus, the team was on the practice field when official word of the players’ strike came Monday. And as word quickly circu lated around the locker room the mood appeared to be more light than serious. “I can see clearly now,” came the voice of one player who was singing in the shower, “we are on strike.” get together and start talking. “My only hope is that they sit down and start talking and not let their egos get involved. If they throw insults back and forth in the media they will nev er get it solved.” Georgia receive ‘mild’ probation eynote ponsore the T f leacher: Fund ses, i and, ti entissu 'Houst inds cai Linebacker coach Jerry Tubbs, as he viewed the huge crowd of writers and broadcasters in the locker room, said: “Look at all of this. We win one game and we get attention like this. Isn’t that great?” Most of the players expressed the hope that the shock of a strike would at last bring some meaningful bargaining. said the chief problem was that the owners had not clearly de monstrated how much money would be available to the players. “My first gut feeling,” said wide receiver Drew Pearson, “was that this would never hap pen. But now that it has my first gut feeling is that they can get this worked out by Friday if they i “They talk about certain fi gures,” he said, “but when you see it on paper it doesn’t add up to the amount they are talking about. It is all garbage. You show me where the money is going and we can start talking. They say it verbally, but a verbal contract isn’t any good.” United Press International ATHENS, Ga. — Reaction to the University of Georgia’s mild one-year probation for recruit ing violations was muted, with school officials and coaches sav ing comment for a news confer ence today and players express ing more concern over Satur day’s game against South Caro lina. The sixth-ranked Bulldogs were placed on probation Mon day by the NCAA. The proba tion, retroactive to Sept. 17, means the loss of three grants- FOOTBALL VICTORY SALEBRATION ALL LOOSE DIAMONDS SET IN AGGIE RINGS THIS WEEK! Formerly Cowarts Jewelry “We Now Accept American Express" 846-5816 in-aid for incoming foot players for the 1983-84 acs mic year and a prohibi against two outside represei lives of the university from| ticipating in the recruitmen players during the probatii It does not include sam related to television a ances or post-season games. According to the NCI Texas A&M’s George Smill Douglas, Ga., was visitedfoi cruiting purposes more li | Com i n three times by members ol university’s football coacl staff; was provided free in P portation from the 1982 Sii le t h re by :xas C< “The; g effe Sues in le said. The L edictet NEW ports! 19 yt nancia Colle . Hanl Bowl to the player’s home; given a Georgia warmu and jacket in February assistant football coach; and' also approached by represei lives of Georgia about sellinj 1982 complimentary fool; tickets. Coach Vince Dooley said] would reserve comment unf weekly news conference ti “This case was limited violations that occurred in recruitment of one student-athlete by a fort assistant football coach andi representatives of the unite ty’s athletic interests,” s Leroy Charles Alan Wright, chaim ixpectii of the NCAA Committee on! [ust. Ai fractions. 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