DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Browns Players File Grievances Against Team

And the hits just keep on coming ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4508545

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Last week, Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini addressed fining one of his players $1,701 for not paying the hotel bill for a $3 bottle of water. Now, some of Mangini's players are addressing the fines in their own way.

To protest Mangini's fines against players, two grievances already have been filed with the NFL Players Association, said a league source, and three more are in the process of being filed now on behalf of Browns players.

All together, at least five grievances will be filed within the next 24-48 hours, and one NFLPA source predicted more could be coming.

Mangini has fined players for such offenses as not paying their hotel bills, players parking in the wrong spots, and having their cell phones go off in meetings. Mangini is trying to deploy structure and discipline to the Browns, just as he did in New York with the Jets, where he also encountered similar circumstances.

An NFLPA source said multiple Jets filed grievances against Mangini, but Mangini has said he won each of those grievances.

In the beginning of the season, Mangini passed out rules to the players of what they can and can't do and each of the fines he has imposed is for something that players were warned they couldn't do. It is why the organization believes it will prevail in their grievances and why what they are doing is necessary to get the organization operating in a proper and efficient manner.

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What a bunch of babies.

No problem with the rules or fines....it's up to Mangini on how he wants the players to feel about him. Some coaches want to be buddy-buddy....some want to be public enemy #1 (Herb Brooks did well with that method in 1980).

Ultimately, our coach won't be graded on how the players feel about him....he will be graded by wins and losses. And that report card isn't looking very good right now.

Can something NOT pathetic actually happen this week? I might cry tears of joy

Wow, so he expects the players to act like regular members of society should? Pay their bills? Not park in other peoples assigned parking spaces? Have the courtesy of not receiving phone calls in meetings?

This Mangini guy sounds like a real jerk.

If the players can't read/won't follow the rules, expect to get punished. Romeo isn't here any more fellas, there's more accountability.

On the other hand, it can't be good for a coach to have multiple grievances filed on a consistent basis.
Win cures a lot of things, though.

I kind of feel the same way CD. Where I work, my department has had 3 directors and 4 managers in 2.5 years. When there is a policy the staff doesn't like, they just act like it will go away soon, so why bother.

Are the Browns players feeling like that? No stability, no control? Maybe this is what Mangini was brought aboard for. Maybe this is what they need.

you guys think the players aren't showing up on sundays because of this? i mean so far it has looked like we did come out to play...but then we just sort of give up in the 2nd half...

I really hope that isn't the case...these guys are pros and are expected to listen to their boss, within reason of course. I do not see anything out of the ordinary that EM is doing with these penalties if they are truly for things that every other member of a civilized society is expected to do.

Just as I am expected to listen to my boss (or in my case my clients), so should the players. If they don't play because of silly fines that could easily be avoided then do we really want them on our team?

It's entirely possible. I've played on well coached teams and teams that were chaos. When things go bad, the well disciplined teams always react better.

One thing I think fans lose sight of is that pros or not, most of these guys are kids. They have come from school to the pros. They go from living on Ramen noodles to being very wealthy. They need to know what is expected. Any chinks in the armor are opportunities for chaos.

Granted, I am in a state of depression when it comes to the Browns, and probably not entirely rational. But it is a distinct possibility.

So we have a joke of a draft, we have a joke of a qb competition, we have a defensive leader that got mad at the coach for not saying hello to him, and in turn didn't have to play in preseason games, we have a # 3 overall wideout that chastises fans and cries about not being wanted, we have lockerroom skirmishes, and now we have several players who have filed grievences with the league.

This is the absolute biggest joke of a sports franchise ever. We are worse than the worst Arizona Cardinals teams, and the worst Cincy Bengals teams. We are setting a new standard for the notion of "pathetic sports franchise"

We have the worst management, we have the worst coaches, and we have the worst group of players in the league.

- An absolute joke.

If it weren't for this messageboard, I don't think I would have any interest in professional football at all. I wish it were as easy as calling it quits on the Browns and going to root for another team - but we all know it isn't that easy.

I'll sit in front of the tv like a moron today, watching Baltimore make a bunch of fools out of us, and I'll complain about it, and then next week, like a true idiot, I'll sit in front of my tv again.

I'm starting to resent my parents for turning me into a Browns fan. Heck, I'm starting to resent my grandparents for not immigrating to Texas, or Florida, or Chicago, or anywhere that isn't associated with the Cleveland Browns.

Unreal.

If these idiots go 0-6 to start the season, Lerner better fire Mangini, 'cause if he doesn't, I'm moving my family to Texas, where we will have no choice but to root for the Cowboys.

I guess I should have filed a grievance when the Drill Instructor said "now get on your faces,..."

Our country is weak, and everybody wonders what is wrong,....

Just a general thought...I wonder how many grievances are filed to the NFLPA from other teams players? We really don't know....it might be a fairly common thing. Just wanted to throw that out there....

Dude, at this point I could care less what goes on with any other franchises. I'm only concerned about the one in Cleveland. - The one that continually earns bad press and criticism. - Note the word "earns"

The only thing I can equate making it to the NFL with, in my life, would be winning the lottery. You and I have never had that kind of quantum leap in our lives. I agree that they should appreciate their situations and rise to them, but it can't be easy for a kid to do that. Even now, as a mature man with a family, it would be tempting to "do bad things". With a poor support system in place, it can be very difficult. Just look at the history of lottery winners.

I can't and won't disagree Shadow.

I would say an NFL player HAS hit the lottery, and does have a support system. I'll keep parking in the correct spots and paying my hotel bills,...

Besides being young and wealthy, they may also be not very bright - or maybe just naive. It is possible that the two players thought the bottle of water and the movie were complementary, like the chocolate mint on the pillow. Its not like they called room service for chicken cordon bleu and a split of champagne. Sometimes the spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law. I would hope that Mangini considered the circumstances before levying the largest fine possible under the NFLPA agreement.

I'm just saying maybe this isn't out of the ordinary. And I agree with shadow, it is a tough situation to go from having nothing to being a multi-millionaire - maybe Mangini is trying to show some "tough love". Not that this would be my way of doing things, but everyone has different management styles.

I don't like the negative press either, but as has been stated a million times, win and no one will care. Coughlin took quite a beating in NY until he started winning, and yes he claimed to have backed off on the discipline side as well, but he still is not a "players coach".

j/c

charlie casserly on nfl today said the fine for the water bottle never happened and the fine happened to a player who had numerous infractions.

Are the grievences being filed?

Players hate EM, they obviously arent even showing up. This team looks like it really just doesnt care.

EM will lose this team by week 8 or so...people think its bad now....wait until we are 0-8 or 0-12...

In all honesty what is the league minimum in salary compared to what they get fined?

Do any of us know the fines?

Is it not reasonable to ask your employees to turn off cell phones during meetings?

If they were all aware of the rules, aware of the punishment for violating the rules, and he's consistent in handing out punishments for the infractions, then the problem isn't Mangini the problem is the player.

If the players are dogging it in games because of this they are devout morons and should be let go when the time comes.

On the other hand, Mangini can't be a "nazi" about how he runs the team either, Tom Coughlin's team had a great degree of difficulty accepting his regiment but the team and coaches worked it out.

I think he lose the team already.

I think the fans should be able to file a grievance

This whole organization should be fined for impersonating football players.

FINE MESS


By Ralph Vacchiano

Posted Sep 18, 2004


Back in May, when somewhere between seven and 10 Giants complained to the NFL players’ association about some of Tom Coughlin’s offseason workout program rules, the incident was dismissed throughout the organization as no big deal. It was not the start of a mutiny, not a sign of unrest. In fact, it wasn’t much of anything at all.


So what is it now that at least two and maybe as many as four players have gone to the union again – this time to file a grievance against Coughlin for fines they received for breaking another one of his rules?

It may not be a mutiny, but there is no doubt it’s at least a symbol of the unrest in the Giants’ locker room over some of the rules Coughlin has laid down in the eight months since he was hired as the Giants coach. The fines were relatively small (between $500 and $1,000) and the infractions were relatively minor (being three minutes “late” to a team meeting). But the players still decided to challenge their coach and take the matter right over Coughlin’s head. The latest incidents involve four players – defensive endMichael Strahan, cornerback Terry Cousin, and linebackers Carlos Emmons and Barrett Green. Two weeks ago, according to a report that first appeared on Foxsports.com, Coughlin scheduled a team meeting to start at 8:25 a.m., and Strahan arrived at 8:23. But one of Coughlin’s rules is that players must be in their seats five minutes early, which means that under “Coughlin Time” Strahan was actually three minutes late.

Strahan, according to the report, arrived to find the door to the meeting closed and team officials, fearful of a Strahan-Coughlin confrontation, warning him not to enter. Later that day, Strahan and Coughlin had a heated discussion about the incident, and the defensive end ended up with a $1,000 fine. During training camp, a similar incident occurred involving Cousin, Emmons and Green who were also not early enough to a meeting. They ended up with a $500 fine each.

According to an NFLPA spokesman, a grievance – which is different than an appeal and could result in a hearing in front of an arbitrator after the regular season – has been filed on behalf of all four players. One NFLPA source said Strahan placed a call himself and asked them to file the grievance on his behalf. Cousin admitted he has also appealed the fine, though Green and Emmons insist they did not.

Coughlin declined to discuss the incidents, though he did admit his policy is that “Meetings start five minutes early.” He also said one of his primary rules for his players is “Be on time.” Of course, that’s where the problem has arisen. Cousin and Green – the only two of the four players willing to talk about the incident – insisted “We were on time.” Green went on to say that he thought Coughlin’s insistence on players being in their seats five minutes early “was something that he recommended. I didn’t know it would be a punishable offense.”

Certainly, from Coughlin’s perspective, a rule is a rule, and he sees no excuse for a player not being five minutes early. In fact, just to make his point clear, he’s had all the clocks in the Giants’ stadium facilities set five minutes fast. And the players get the point. They just think Coughlin is being petty. If a meeting is scheduled to start at 8:25 but Coughlin really wants them there at 8:20, why wouldn’t he just tell them that in the first place? And why pick a fight with four key defensive players over three lousy minutes – especially when they had all still arrived before the meeting had actually started?

There’s a good possibility the players might have just paid the fines and let it go if they weren’t already chafing under Coughlin’s iron rule. This all started with those complaints about the offseason workout program, when Coughlin was forcing his players to eat breakfast at the stadium and keeping them there for meetings longer than allowed. And it’s continued with his insistence on a strict dress code on the road, removing the TVs from the workout room, the way he nitpicks over the height of players’ socks, and the way he forces the players to run onto the field for pre-game warm-ups like a high school marching band.

However, Coughlin does not believe he’s losing his players. In fact he thinks his players are adjusting to his rule book just fine.

“The players understand and they know what the program is about and I don't think there's been that difficult adjustment at all,” Coughlin said. “This is a group that has been fairly receptive. Everyone wants to make things out as if we had all these rules. The NFL has a lot of rules, in case anybody hasn't looked at the discipline schedule set by the commissioner. But we have certain things we believe in, and that's the way it's going to be. One of them is obviously to be punctual.”

Ironically, Coughlin made that comment on a day when he was nine minutes late to his own press conference – 14 minutes late if you go by the “Coughlin Time” clocks.

To be fair, while the Giants’ players are certainly grumbling loudly behind the scenes, there is hardly an all-out mutiny going on. It’s obvious he has a problem with Strahan – a big problem considering Strahan is perhaps the most influential team leader. But beyond that, the players insist (at least publicly) that Coughlin doesn’t have any problems with his team at all.

“He doesn’t have a problem with anybody,” Cousin said. “He just has things that he wants us to follow. We’re doing that the best that we can. That’s really it. He doesn’t have a problem with anybody in the locker room.”

Not yet, anyway. And that’s the key – possibly to this entire season. The coach and players seem to be testing each other right now, feeling both sides out to see how far they can be pushed. The coach wants the players to understand he is a dictator, and his rules are law. The players want the coach to know they’re not afraid to challenge him when they think he’s wrong.

So far they’ve challenged him twice – both times before the regular season had even started. Imagine how testy the two sides will be if the Giants are out of the playoff chase by mid-year.


scout.com




Head Coach: Tom Coughlin



Long regarded as one of the NFL’s premier head coaches, Tom Coughlin reached the pinnacle of his profession in the 2007 season when he led the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XLII. The Giants, heavy underdogs entering the game, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the previously-undefeated New England Patriots, 17-14.

nfl.com

I've given up on this story. Pregame show had the one talking head saying the story of the water bottle fine was 100% not true. I don't know who to believe and the GM doesn't do anything to clear up anything.