Arrington Grievence

how come agents can screw over players with incompetence and never get fired? It amazes me how much trust is put into some of these guys...
The Postons, in particular, are known for developing a very tight bond with their clients. They do whatever they can to ingratiate themselves to their clients, to the point where their clients think of them almost like family members. To wit, some of the players whom the Postons represent-- particularly those who grew up without a strong fatherly presence-- willingly allow the Postons to take on the father figure role in their lives.

The Postons are smart-- they know that forming a close personal bond with their clients will ensure a long, profitable business relationship with them as well. It's easy to fire some guy that acts like a used car salesman-- as some of these agents do-- but it's infinitely more difficult to do that to someone who you think of as 'family'.

sportscurmudgeon-
In defense of the legal experts (myself included - seasons 1&2 of Law and Order on DVD) who made the statements regarding Owens's status, the arbitrator never made a decision in the case - all parties settled. We can presume that the outcome would have granted Owens free agent status, but we can't verify that. We can also say that, regardless of the final outcome, months of bad press and strife could have been avoided if David Joseph had bothered to read any correspondence regarding his one client. I find it difficult to believe that Terrell Owens couldn't have made a better deal for himself if he had been on the open market, and had multiple teams bidding for his services. That's why I thought Joseph should've been canned - incompetence comes in many forms, and I feel he acted incompetently.

We can also say that, regardless of the final outcome, months of bad press and strife could have been avoided if David Joseph had bothered to read any correspondence regarding his one client.

Here's the thing, Brud. David Joseph was smart enough to build a seperate clause into T.O.'s contract that allowed him to be a free agent up to X date. This contract was reviewed and accepted by the NFLPA. The problem here is the NFL/Teams had no case, and they knew they didn't have a case. I don't think he expected this to turn into such a big deal as it did, but he covered his bases while writing the contract.

BrudLee:

You are absolutely correct that the arbitrator did not make a decision in the Terrell Owens case. However, the end result is that TO became a free agent which is what most folks here said would NEVER happen because he had no case.

I'm perfectly willing to admit that I don't know what happened in the Arrington/Redskins negotiations. I don't believe that the beat reporters for the Wash Post or the Wash Times or ESPN know either. Please note that Joe Crisp has not chimed in here to set all of us straight because he knows each and every detail either. Those negotiations were private meaning we do not know yet what was going on there.

Therefore, I don't feel qualified to make a judgment yet regarding the viability of Arrington's case or if this is all one giant misunderstanding. I'm just amazed how people will take sides in a matter like this without knowing any of the facts. Just because Arrington is a Redskin doesn't mean he can't be at fault. And just because Danny Boy owns the Redskins does not mean he can't be at fault. But it seems to me that a lot of folks are ready to blame the agents here just because they aren't tied to the Redskins. I'll wait and see.

As I said in my earlier post, the thing to hope for is that there is no finding of an intentional misrepresentation of the contract to the NFL and/or the NFLPA by the Redskins because that will carry sanctions for the team. That would suck!!

I'm not necessarily "taking sides", I'm just stating my opinion on the situation.

I don't know who's wrong or right, but if I had to guess I'd say it's Arrington and the Postons. But who really knows? I guess we'll have to wait and see. It's still fun to speculate though.

BrudLee:

You are absolutely correct that the arbitrator did not make a decision in the Terrell Owens case. However, the end result is that TO became a free agent which is what most folks here said would NEVER happen because he had no case.

Actually, they (not-so) simply redid the trade that sent him to the Ravens. Baltimore got their picks back, plus another, San Fran got players, and Philly got TO. Owens and Joseph dropped their grievance because they got what they wanted. Baltimore, though they lost TO, might not have had him in uniform anyway, so the extra pick was fine. San Fran got stuff, but who cares - they are going to absolutely blow this year.

none of us really know every little detail in whats going on but its a fan perogative to have an opinion on the situation. just because some people choose to speculate and form opinions based on the facts given doesn't make them "dumbasses". For the most part I know I for one just wanted TO to get some karmic justice and had some wishful thinking that he wouldn't wind up with a team I hate.

In the end hopefully this all gets worked out because Arrington has expressed his desire to remain with the team no matter what the results are and if he keeps playing well for the Redskins we all know Snyder will remain generous with the contracts. I know I personally feel from whats been written and said, this falls on the shoulders of Arrington and the Postons'. I just find it incredibly hard to believe a business man as smart as Snyder, who is bound and determined for the Redskins to be successful again, would metaphorically stab his team's most popular active player in the back especially since he's shown that he has no problem spending money to try and get results.