NFL wins grievance against union. Arbitrator orders NFLPA to stop making 'team report cards' public

An arbitrator determined the NFL Players Association violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL by distributing annual “team report cards” and ordered the union to stop making public any future reports. The NFL informed teams of the decision on Friday.

“We are pleased with the decision from the arbitrator, upholding the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and prohibiting the NFLPA from disparaging our clubs and individuals through ‘report cards’ allegedly based on data and methodologies that it has steadfastly refused to disclose,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “We remain committed to working in partnership with the NFLPA and an independent survey company to develop and administer a scientifically valid survey to solicit accurate and reliable player feedback as the parties agreed in the CBA.”

In a memo sent to the 32 teams, NFL attorneys said the NFLPA’s witness and counsel at a hearing characterized the report cards as “union speech” and admitted that: the union “cherry-picked” topics and player responses to include or not in the report cards; players had no role in drafting the commentary; the union selected which anonymous player quotes to include or exclude and the union determined the weight to give each topic and the resulting impact on the alphabetical grades.

“The arbitrator did not find that the union’s independent survey necessarily conflicts with its obligation to conduct a joint specific survey of players’ opinions regarding the adequacy of medical care under the CBA,” the league said in its memo to teams. “Therefore, the Management Council will continue to work with the NFLPA to design and conduct such a survey in the coming seasons."

The union later issued a statement saying its efforts aren't going away and that it will continue to ensure players are being heard.

“The ruling upholds our right to survey players and share the results with players and clubs,” the union said in its statement. “While we strongly disagree with the restriction on making those results public, that limitation does not stop the program or its impact. Players will continue to receive the results, and teams will continue to hear directly from their locker rooms.

“Importantly, the arbitrator rejected the NFL’s characterization of the process, finding the Team Report Cards to be fair, balanced, and increasingly positive over time. Our methodology is sound.”

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