The last time the NFL owners and their players went through the mediation process, it was done under the direction of George Cohen from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The owners were hoping that that would be the location for the mediation again.
↵Minnesota judge Susan Richard Nelson, on the other hand, thinks the venue needed to change. Since she's the judge in the case, her opinion carries significantly more weight than anybody else's.
↵The mediation session between the league and the players will take place in Minneapolis this time, and it will be under the direction of Chief Magistrate Arthur Boylan. This is the set-up that the players wanted, so this will be viewed as something of an advantage for them.
↵However, it remains to be seen how much this actually means in the grand scheme of things. After all, as we saw during the last round of mediation, these horses can be led to the proverbial water, but they can't be made to drink. Just because they've been ordered back to the table doesn't mean they're actually going to agree or anything.
↵It's probably in the interests of both parties to put some serious effort forth in this mediation, however. . .because I get the feeling that if Judge Nelson ends up making a ruling, much like Judge David Doty said in 1993, it's very likely that neither side is going to like it very much.
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