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The NFL Players Association announced Friday that it had decided not to initiate a formal investigation under the sport's collective bargaining agreement of the Washington Redskins ' handling of the knee injury suffered by quarterback Robert Griffin III . The union conducted an informal inquiry this week and concluded, according to a person familiar with the findings, that Griffin never played in a game after being diagnosed by doctors with...

NEW ORLEANS — It's long been something of a mantra when it comes to football: Injuries are part of the game. But at a time in which concerns about player safety have received increased attention in the NFL, a new study by the players' union casts the medical care offered to players when they do get hurt in a questionable light. Nine in 10 players say they do not trust their team's medical staff, according to the survey by the NFL Players Association. "For the last few seasons, there's...

Richard Berthelsen walked into the NFL Players Association as a young lawyer in 1972, thinking he'd stick around for three years and then maybe return to Wisconsin. Back then, the entire staff consisted of the executive director, two secretaries and Berthelsen, the newly-hired general counsel. "I had this notion I would go to Washington, help win free agency for the players and then go back. How naive was that?" Berthelsen asked. "We did win free agency, but it was 20 years later.

The NFL Players Association announced Friday that it had decided not to initiate a formal investigation under the sport's collective bargaining agreement of the Washington Redskins ' handling of the knee injury suffered by quarterback Robert Griffin III . The union conducted an informal inquiry this week and concluded, according to a person familiar with the findings, that Griffin never played in a game after being diagnosed by doctors with...

After Gene Upshaw, the longtime president of the National Football League Players Association, died suddenly in August 2008, a family struggle broke out over his estate. The item most contested: a previously undisclosed $15 million deferred compensation fund the union paid to his widow in Great Falls. The payment has outraged some retired NFL players, who have long claimed that Upshaw did not represent them as fairly as he did current players during his 25-year career with the union.

Blogging at http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/ When it came time to take the field for the Cincinnati Bengals' game against the San Diego Chargers, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was in his familiar No. 85 jersey, not in Chris Henry's No. 15, the shirt he'd hoped to wear as a tribute to his late teammate. According to the Bengals' Web site, Ochocinco said he wasn't concerned about a potential fine by the NFL but added: "I don't want to be a distraction. " Ochocinco caused a stir late last week when...

The leaders of the NFL Players Association voted Wednesday to award a $1 million bonus to the union's executive director, DeMaurice Smith, for negotiating a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with the league this year. The payment was approved by the players on the union's ruling executive committee, according to several people familiar with the deliberations. Former NFL center Kevin Mawae, the union president, and the executive committee issued a written statement Wednesday announcing that "the Executive...

Roger Goodell is winning. He hasn't met a player or an issue he couldn't beat with a superior gaze. You have to admit that he is a success as NFL commissioner, if the definition of success is exercising control over 1,700 athletes and 32 owners without ever removing your suit coat, or showing a bead of sweat on your condescending forehead. Name an issue Goodell hasn't prevailed on. Player conduct? Owner crackdown? Work stoppage? This week, Goodell scored a legal victory over Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones...

New Orleans RB Reggie Bush will not travel with the Saints to London following yesterday's loss to Carolina, instead heading to Alabama to have his injured left knee examined. Bush is expected to see renowned surgeon James Andrews in Birmingham, Coach Sean Payton said. The Saints believe Bush has injured the meniscus in his left knee and won't be able to play San Diego at Wembley Stadium next week. Fox Sports reported Bush, who injured his knee on a first-half punt return, was going to have arthroscopic...

Do you swallow something when you don't know what's in it? Not if you have an IQ above room temperature. So why should NFL players, or any other athletes for that matter, be expected to swallow the World Anti Doping Agency 's method for HGH drug testing without independent scientific verification that it's reliable, or fair, or applicable to them? What if a stranger told you to take a blood test, showed you a vial and a needle and said, "Here, trust me. " What if the stranger told you that the result...

The NFL Players Association is expected to decide soon, perhaps Friday, whether to demand a formal investigation of the Washington Redskins ' handling of the knee injury suffered by quarterback Robert Griffin III under the sport's collective bargaining agreement, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. The union also issued a public plea Thursday for the Redskins to improve the quality of the playing surface at FedEx Field. Griffin, the Redskins' brilliant...

Roger Goodell is winning. He hasn't met a player or an issue he couldn't beat with a superior gaze. You have to admit that he is a success as NFL commissioner, if the definition of success is exercising control over 1,700 athletes and 32 owners without ever removing your suit coat, or showing a bead of sweat on your condescending forehead. Name an issue Goodell hasn't prevailed on. Player conduct? Owner crackdown? Work stoppage? This week, Goodell scored a legal victory over Dan Snyder...

NFL team owners approved a rule change Tuesday that will require players to wear knee and thigh pads during games, beginning in the 2013 season. The one-year delay in implementation of the rule allows time for the league to receive input from players, according to the NFL. The owners approved the measure during a one-day meeting in Atlanta. League officials have called the rule a safety measure designed to reduce the number and severity of injuries suffered by players. But the rule could be...

Richard Berthelsen walked into the NFL Players Association as a young lawyer in 1972, thinking he'd stick around for three years and then maybe return to Wisconsin. Back then, the entire staff consisted of the executive director, two secretaries and Berthelsen, the newly-hired general counsel. "I had this notion I would go to Washington, help win free agency for the players and then go back. How naive was that?" Berthelsen asked. "We did win free agency, but it was 20 years later.

The leaders of the NFL Players Association voted Wednesday to award a $1 million bonus to the union's executive director, DeMaurice Smith, for negotiating a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with the league this year. The payment was approved by the players on the union's ruling executive committee, according to several people familiar with the deliberations. Former NFL center Kevin Mawae, the union president, and the executive committee issued a written statement Wednesday announcing that "the...

Do you swallow something when you don't know what's in it? Not if you have an IQ above room temperature. So why should NFL players, or any other athletes for that matter, be expected to swallow the World Anti Doping Agency 's method for HGH drug testing without independent scientific verification that it's reliable, or fair, or applicable to them? What if a stranger told you to take a blood test, showed you a vial and a needle and said, "Here, trust me. " What if the stranger told you that...

A House subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for next week concerning the issues surrounding the case of two Minnesota Vikings players whose suspensions by the NFL for testing positive for a banned diuretic have not been enforced because of a string of court decisions. The hearing is to come Tuesday before the House subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection, a subcommittee spokesman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Representatives of the league and NFL Players Association are expected to testify at the hearing,...

NFL team owners approved a rule change Tuesday that will require players to wear knee and thigh pads during games, beginning in the 2013 season. The one-year delay in implementation of the rule allows time for the league to receive input from players, according to the NFL. The owners approved the measure during a one-day meeting in Atlanta. League officials have called the rule a safety measure designed to reduce the number and severity of injuries suffered by players. But the rule could be challenged by the...

NFL players had no immediate plans Friday to vote on the proposal team owners approved to end the league's lockout, but they remained hopeful of completing an agreement that would put pro football back in business next week, several people familiar with the situation said Friday. The owners on Thursday approved a 10-year collective bargaining agreement and announced plans for a conditional end of the lockout if the NFL Players Association's executive committee recommended ratification of the deal to all...

It was so easy to start the NFL lockout. All the owners had to do was turn a key. But it was always going to be a lot harder to end it. It wasn't going to be over simply with a snap of the owners' collective fingers, despite their apparent belief that it should be like calling for a waiter and the check. The owners put a dangerous dynamic into motion when they shut their doors against their own players, with all sorts of unintended consequences. One of them was a cycle of suspicion that made it hard...