Did the New England Patriots violate any part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in connection with the celebrated benching of Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler?
The NFL Players Association is reportedly looking into the matter where the benching of Malcolm during Wednesdays’ OTA session. Malcolm reported late for team practice and the team benched him for doing so and hence prevented him from taking part in team practice.
The NFLPA is apparently looking into a possible violation of Article 21 Section 5 (a), particularly in the line that states that club officials cannot tell a player that offseason activities are voluntary.
Per source, the NFLPA is indeed looking into potential violation of CBA Article 21, Section 5(a) by the Patriots -- re: Malcolm Butler.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 10, 2015
However, if Butler’s response to the whole matter is to be taken into consideration, it seems that it is hardly an issue. He has kept mum on the disciplinary actions made on the Patriot’s safety.
Instead of being idle, Butler kept himself occupied, spending time in the film and weight rooms and capping it all off as saying that he felt that he hardly miss a step.
From the looks of it, Butler seems to have accepted the punishment and avoided elaborating further on the matter. “I’m really not going to get into that,” he said. “I have no comment on that” says Butler on the celebrated benching.
The whole issue seems to have become overblown a bit, something that coach Bill Belichick hopes will eventually die down.
“[He’s] been out there,” said head coach Bill Belichick. “Everybody that’s out there is working hard. Guys that aren’t out there, we hope we get them back soon.”
Should his words be taken in depth, Butler may have missed a total of six OTA practices from the previous two weeks and did not confirm that the benching was part of a disciplinary measure.
If not as a punishment, it could be that Butler has yet to get into the groove of things and that he could be relegated to the bench for the meantime. It could also be a way of preventing injuries though his tardiness has gotten the better of the whole situation.
In all, however, there seems to be no friction to begin with. Right now, Butler plans to improve on his footwork and communication with teammates which sends positive signals that there is no real issue from inside the ranks.
The Patriots are on the verge of wrapping up their OTA sessions and are gearing up for next week’s mandatory minicamp.
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