Common ground? Between an NFL player and a key member of the NFL negotiating team in the ongoing labor dispute. It appears some has been found. NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash finds himself agreeing with New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott that the labor dispute is "on the verge of insanity."
“I really thought he put it very well, that we’re getting to the point where we’re really putting our fans at risk,” Pash said in an interview with NFL Network’s Albert Breer in Indianapolis, site of this week’s NFL Spring Meeting. “We’re getting to the point where people just can’t understand why there’s not a deal being made. And I think in many respects the best thing for all of us to do is get out of court, get out of the media, and get together, and I think Bart Scott is right.
“We’re getting to the point where we’re putting our business at risk, and it’s our shared livelihood,” Pash continued. “We have a shared responsibility to get this done. We can’t do it ourselves. They can’t do it themselves. And so we really need to put the litigation aside, we need to focus on negotiations. I think there’s a deal to be made, I really do. I’ve thought that for a long time.”
These are, of course, just words and they don't solve anything. There does, however, seem to be an increasing realization on both sides that they need to start getting serious about cutting a deal. That has to be a good sign.