After hearing the statements of Jacksonville Jaguars personnel executive Tom Coughlin, the NFLPA’s president, Eric Winston, took to the web with a reply of his own —and needless to say — he wasn’t a fan of Jalen Ramsey and Telvin Smith being called out.
“Our CBA definition of voluntary is the same as the actual definition of voluntary and prohibits anyone from threatening players to participate in voluntary workouts,” Winston said to Pro Football Talk Thursday. “This is precisely the reason players negotiated strict work rules and bright lines when it comes to offseason activities. We know, from experience, that not all coaches and executives will adhere to them and we always pursue any violations to protect our rules.”
Sounds like Winston and the NFLPA will be looking to take action against Coughlin, although it’s unclear how that will be. That might especially be the case when considering they’ve had issues with the Jags’ head man before after he sent a letter to multiple players under contract about having physical examinations in March of 2017. Players on the Jags’ roster at the time weren’t allowed to report to the team’s facility until April 10, which means Coughlin violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement. An anonymous player took issue with the letter due to the player having to pay traveling expenses to Jacksonville, which put the NFLPA on Coughlin’s tracks, though it’s unclear if any fines or actions came from the incident.
Over the course of time, we’ll be sure to monitor the situation as it is clear the NFLPA aren’t Coughlin’s biggest fans.
