An open letter in the name of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank was released on the team's site Sunday, described as an update for fans on the league's labor dispute. The letter places responsibility for the ongoing lockout on the players, who "walked away from a deal that was more than fair" in order to fiddle around with the legal system.
Blank also claims the owners "offered to share financial information that goes far beyond the requirements of federal labor law."
Not every NFL owner built a business from the ground up, especially not businesses based around physical labor, so Blank does have more experience with the matter than many others involved. Blank's associate and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, however, does appear to have strikingly negative views on labor unions in general -- though there's no reason to assume Blank and Marcus agree in all instances on the viability of unions, of course.
Following the lockout hasn't been easy for Falcons fans. Besides the obvious NO FOOTBALL thing, there's the fact that most of us actually like our team's owner. While it's preferable to hear from him as often as possible during the process, it's still concerning to read his description of the league's latest offer in light of the team's push to have an expensive new stadium built.
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