The big losers, running back Tiki Barber feels, are the Giants themselves, because they must forfeit valuable time that could be used to get better, all because whistle-blowers went to the union instead of keeping complaints in-house.
The Giants learned yesterday they will lose two workout days next week as punishment for Tom Coughlin violating rules regarding the team’s offseason program.
“It hurts our team because we miss those two days,” said Barber, the Giants’ union co-representative along with Michael Strahan. “It helps the Eagles and Redskins and Cowboys, our competition. Things are going to be accelerated a little bit when we get back.”
The NFL Management Council and the NFL Players Association made the ruling after several players complained directly to the union about Coughlin’s schedule, insisting the length of his workouts and the fact that he listed a “mandatory breakfast” in a supposedly voluntary program violated collective-bargaining agreement stipulations for offseason workouts.
NFL Executive VP Harold Henderson and NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw determined that the Giants violated rules pertaining to the length of workouts on organized team activity (OTA) days and the scheduling of classroom sessions.
The Giants could have lost an entire week of workouts; instead, they will have a strength day on Monday, an OTA on Tuesday and then forfeit Wednesday and Thursday of the coming week, days originally scheduled as two of their 14 allotted OTA days.
The players are not permitted to be at Giants Stadium on those days but will be paid for the sessions. The team will then resume offseason workouts on June 1, but Barber said most of the team figures to meet on at least one of the days they are banned from the stadium.
“I’m sure guys will still want to go work out in some capacity,” Barber said. “We’ll take our groups and have a meeting over at somebody’s house. Go hang out, team-building exercises. We have a lot of work to do, a lot to learn.”
Coughlin, in a statement issued by the team, said, “We did not intentionally violate any rules. The issues that have been brought to our attention will be corrected.”
Barber believes the team would have been better served if the complaints first went to either him or Strahan, as they could have taken the issue up directly with Coughlin.
“We could have handled it in house, like it should have been,” Barber said.
Upshaw said that seven to 10 Giants made complaints, but several players believe the number is considerably smaller and that the violations were minor.
To classify the grumbling as a team revolt is a gross exaggeration – every player other than Strahan is participating in the program – but the resolution is a slap at Coughlin’s supposed attention to detail.