Obama Addresses NFL Labor Dispute

President Barack Obama weighed in on the NFL lockout situation on Thursday, the last day before the current collective bargaining agreement expires.

According to the Associated Press, Obama "expects" and "hopes" that the two sides will settle the labor dispute.

He also said that he will not get involved in the negotiations.

The president insisted that the two parties should be able to work out a deal. "You've got owners, most of whom are worth close to a billion dollars. You've got players who are making millions of dollars," Obama reportedly said. "People are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making mortgage [payments]. The two parties should be able to work it out without the President of the United States intervening."

Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday that the owners and union are discussing extending the negotiating deadline "by a week or two."

Comments

[gfm975]

06:18 PM on 03/12/2011

Funny, President Milquetoast feels comfortable weighing in and discussing the NFL labor dispute, but those pesky Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and so on labor situations, not so much.

Honestly, who would have thought this guy would be such a wuss?

[KDMac]

02:44 PM on 03/04/2011

Works for me, way to go Mr. President : D

[dukesman2000]

02:32 PM on 03/04/2011

Why is everyone worrying about the players and the owners being affected by this impasse? These people, like the president said are millionaire and billionaires. I am worried about the folks employed to work around the stadium i.e. the vendors etc. They don’t make millions.

[Wow Unbelievable]

10:39 AM on 03/04/2011

You know what upsets me... is NOT the way Obama answer the question, which I feel he gave a good answer...

What upsets me this it AP reporter. This was a Obama/Calderon presser and the US got to ask one question and the NFL WAS THE QUESTION?!?!??!?! I'm sorry but there are a lot more pressing issues going on in the world right now then football. Shame on this guy!!

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/03/03/us_media_gets_one_question_at_obamacalderon_presser_ap_asks_about_nfl_lockout.html

[Ben Pothoff]

10:28 AM on 03/04/2011

A marketing suggestion to the NFL and it's players, stop fighting over your excessive excess! Take the $$$ that is in dispute and donate it to a handful of charities. Use it for marketing and show that the NFL is not a group of clowns, but instead a group of men who can see the bigger picture. That picture is one of a struggling economy and people losing everything they have worked for. It is those people that will be hurt the most if the lockout is allowed to happen. Now is the time to show your character and build an unending support for your league. Continue on a path to greatness or allow your greed to ruin another of America's favorite sports!

[Shzron1946]

10:07 AM on 03/04/2011

liar!! he didn't address it. he was asked to address it and he refused to get involved.

[rich3324]

11:16 AM on 03/04/2011

That's an answer.I guess you were thrown because it was spoken in complete sentences.

[judow]

09:47 AM on 03/04/2011

Obama want's to be a sports superstar sooo bad, and all he got was the lousy POTUS....

[Rocks911]

09:45 AM on 03/04/2011

So they should be able to work this out "without the president intervening"? Apparently intervening is on his mind? millionaires arguing about who gets more and the word intervening comes to the presidents mind, state workers struggling and on the chopping block to lose even more and we get what from the president, stunning silence.
We could use a man like Franklin Roosevelt today, a man not afraid of the monied interests and the banks, this president is an enabler for the oligarchs, total disappointment..

[mlr710]

12:56 PM on 03/05/2011

More fauxgressive whining I see.

[rebel9999]

09:40 AM on 03/04/2011

Try to keep your lazer forcus on the economy.

[BOBINMO]

09:29 AM on 03/04/2011

Millionaires and Billionaires arguing over money. Yawn.

[GHO]

10:01 AM on 03/04/2011

Just another battle between the Have's anf Have-More's

[SwimUpstream]

09:17 AM on 03/04/2011

That's real important Obama. I'm so happy that you're working on the things that really matter. Isn't it time for you to take another vacation yet? You must be exhausted

[rich3324]

11:18 AM on 03/04/2011

He was at a press conference and was asked the question. Try and stay up with the group.

[martigras]

09:11 AM on 03/04/2011

Obama has lost his way if he comments on this and not what is going on in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states. Maybe he needs to turn off ESPN and get back out in the streets to see what's really going on.

[SwimUpstream]

09:17 AM on 03/04/2011

No kidding. What an outrage

[Roland19]

09:58 AM on 03/04/2011

You didn't want him to answer the question asked of him?

[miesque]

08:52 AM on 03/04/2011

Obama addresses NFL Labor Dispute but doesn't have the GUTS to address the labor dispute going on in 15 different States in this country. In 2007, then "candidate" Obama said "If American workers are being denied their right to organize when I’m in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes and I will walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States.” What is astonishing to me is that he has been Called Out on this very statement by just about every media outlet in the country, except the conservative ones, yet he still sticks his fingers in his ears and has the audacity to pretend he doesn't hear it.

[SwimUpstream]

09:17 AM on 03/04/2011

I know, I want to pull my remaining hair out

[Rocks911]

09:47 AM on 03/04/2011

I dont know who the president meets with immediately after an election but they must be scary as h*ll. Every president in recent memory regardless of the rhetoric ends up serving the oligarchs. They must threaten the presidents children.

[titantom]

08:45 AM on 03/04/2011

My guess would be that Republicans would have no problem saying it is ok to tax the richest amongst us as long as they are taxing only Professional Athletes and Hollywood.

TAX ALL THE RICH AND OUR PROBLEMS GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leave the middle class alone.

[practical]

08:54 AM on 03/04/2011

they do.

according to census 86% of all federal income taxes are paid by the top 25% of income earncers.

the top 50% pay 97% of all income taxes
the top 1% pay 39%

[dayzee10]

09:18 AM on 03/04/2011

Another retealibanbaggerican coming to the defense of his owners

[lanebaldwin]

09:54 AM on 03/04/2011

an interesting set of deceptive figures. Com pare the amount of tax paid to amount of income and you quickly realize that as a percentage of income, the rich pay less in taxes than the average American.

[jasdmd0]

09:26 AM on 03/04/2011

So the folks who already pay the most in aggregate dollars, but end up utilizing little/none of the government social services/programs that make up a large portion of government expenses, should pay for more for, so that the people who actually utiliize (or are atleast more likely to utilize at some point) those services don't have to pay?? As the old saying goes, nothing in life is free

[kent4620]

08:43 AM on 03/04/2011

is this the same press release he used for Wisc.?