Adraian Peterson has it so bad.We be slaves! The players are getting robbed!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Adrian-Peterson-expresses-frustration-on-labor-i;_ylt=AjpsPL8OV0fvTLVkxfGTdk5DubYF?urn=nfl-wp206
No matter what NFL players may be doing in the offseason, the ongoing labor negotiations are never far from their minds. Even stars like Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson have strong feelings on the issues being debated by NFL players and team owners, who are fighting over how to divide the league's estimated $9.3 billion in revenue.
Speaking just minutes after the owners locked out the players, Peterson compared the players' place in the game to "modern-day slavery," a statement that, while ill-advised, was made in the context of how the players feel they're being treated in these talks. (Note: Based on the context in which the comments were made, I do not believe that Peterson was actually equating his current position in the NFL with any kind of slavery. I will update this piece if he clarifies his statement.) What follows is our full interview.
See the controversial quote in its entirety here.
SC: We're talking about 15 minutes after the NFLPA sent in the paperwork to decertify, so the lockout's on everybody's minds. I've talked to a lot of players about this recently, and I always ask the same question â€" what is the message you want to get out to the people who love the game and are tired of hearing all the labor talk?
AP: We're business-minded, also. It's not just fun and games. A lot of football players, whether it's Sunday or Monday night â€" we're out there on the field, competing, hitting each other. But people don't see everything else behind it. It's a job for us, too â€" every day of the week. We're in different states, sometimes thousands of miles away from our families and kids, and a lot of people don't look at it like that. All some people see is, 'Oh, we're not going to be around football.' But how the players look at it "¦ the players are getting robbed. They are. The owners are making so much money off of us to begin with. I don't know that I want to quote myself on that"¦
SC: It's nothing that I haven't heard from other players, believe me.
AP: It's modern-day slavery, you know? People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money "¦ the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money. I understand that; these are business-minded people. Of course this is what they are going to want to do. I understand that; it's how they got to where they are now. But as players, we have to stand our ground and say, 'Hey â€" without us, there's no football.' There are so many different perspectives from different players, and obviously we're not all on the same page â€" I don't know. I don't really see this going to where we'll be without football for a long time; there's too much money lost for the owners. Eventually, I feel that we'll get something done.
ffice
