Thursday afternoon SB Nation football writers, including myself, were able to discuss the lockout and other NFL issues via conference call with Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Friday morning SB Nation football writers got to hear the other side of the story when NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith held an exclusive conference call of his own with SB Nation's Joel Thorman. Other SB Nation football writers were able to listen in on the call, though not query Smith directly.
Thus far, SB Nation has posted a couple of stories from the Smith call.
DeMaurice Smith: Jeff Pash Has A 'Casual Relationship With The Truth'
"Jeff [Pash] only has a casual relationship with the truth. Jeff knows that the NFL's deal was an all-or-nothing deal. They did not present an a la carte menu to the players of the NFL. They didn't sit down with us and say, 'Why don't you select the things you like, reject the things you don't, and let's move forward.' Jeff knows that their deal was inextricably tied to every point on the deal."
DeMaurice Smith Says Roger Goodell Should Negotiate With Players, Not Write Letters
"Everyone likes to focus on what happened during the last 15 days. Well let me tell you what happened during 15 days of mediation. We had decision makers in the room virtually every day. We had men from the executive committee, former players who sit on the executive committee and team reps in the room for 15 straight days. For most of that time, the NFL never had a decision maker in the room. On the last day of mediation, the National Football League proposed a deal that is -- quote -- the worst deal in the history of sports."
Ugh! Read plenty more at SBNation.com. I might have more thoughts over the weekend on what we heard from both sides during the past two days. No doubt it isn't pretty, though, and there is not much trust on either side.