League shrugs at NFLPA’s resistance to hip-drop ban

The NFL is determined to ban the hip-drop tackle. The NFL Players Association is opposed to it. The NFL is basically ignoring the union’s position as, put simply, predictable and consistent.

“I’ve been in that position before as a leader of the Player’s Association involved in many of the meetings,” NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent said during a Thursday conference call with reporters regarding the proposal rule changes. “There’s always going to be resistance from the player when you talk about removing things. There’s going to be resistance, and I respect that. There was resistance in removing the blindside block. There was resistance removing the crackback block. There was resistance removing the attack block. There was resistance removing the horse collar. Again, I mentioned it earlier in the opening, durability and availability is the number one and two aspect for any professional athlete and particularly with football players. I have a technique that causes 20 to 25-percent injury rate when it occurs. I respect their position, but as gatekeepers of the game . . . this is something that we have to remove.

“The intent is not to throw more flags, but the intent is to examine during the week and remove that style of play. The latter part of that is I would love and we always include player feedback, player involvement. It’s a complete player-driven, we believe, a player-driven and coach-driven league. The more player involvement, the more informed we are in
decisions. Lastly, I would just say, it’s so important for we as former players and many are involved leading that charge with the co-chairs of our player safety committee, led by Ronnie Lott and Curtis Martin, Orlando Page and that group, it is a phenomenal group that we all agree with this, and we want to protect these young men from unnecessary risk. . . . We respect their position, but I have a 20 to 25X injury rate. It’s hard for us at the National Football League to walk out of a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/league-shrugs-nflpas-resistance-hip-104005712.html

Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-22 10:40:05

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.