Giants center Shaun O’Hara, as the team’s player representative to the recently decertified NFL Players Association, was deeply involved in the protracted negotiations with the league that did not conclude with a new collective bargaining agreement.
Looking back, O’Hara said he feels there was no way for the union to make a deal with NFL owners who were never offering a deal both sides could live with.
“After agreeing to a weeklong extension in an attempt to come to a fair agreement with the NFL, we realized that the owners do not have an interest in agreeing to a fair deal with the players,” O’Hara said in an e-mail to The Post. “Therefore we have decided that the NFLPA will no longer represent the players in collective bargaining with the NFL. It was evident to us that the owners had no intentions of sharing vital information when entering into a ‘partnership’ that a ‘Collectively Bargained Agreement’ represents. We will now move forward with involvement from the court system to reach an agreement.”
Though there was no official schedule for the start of the Giants’ offseason workout program, it likely would have started this week (it usually kicks off in mid-March). That won’t happen because of the lockout, and players will have to find other venues where they can work out. They are not permitted on the premises of the team’s Timex Performance Center in East Rutherford.
“As a player I would like to thank the fans for their support through these challenging times,” O’Hara wrote, “and I would like to assure them that football is not just a game for us, it is our livelihood, and we will do everything within our power to resolve these issues.”