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Seth Wickersham
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Seth Wickersham
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
- Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
- Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.
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Don Van Natta Jr.
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Don Van Natta Jr.
ESPN Senior Writer
- Host and co-executive producer of the new ESPN series, «Backstory»
- Member of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams for national, explanatory and public service journalism
- Author of three books, including New York Times best-selling «First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush»
- 24-year newspaper career at The New York Times and Miami Herald
The NFL has lodged a grievance against the NFL Players Association, requesting the union to discontinue its annual team report cards, claiming that this practice breaches the collective bargaining agreement by publicly criticizing teams, according to documents acquired by ESPN.
The league asserts that the report cards, which survey players regarding numerous aspects of their working environment, contravene a CBA clause mandating NFL owners and the union to «utilize reasonable efforts to limit public remarks by club personnel or players that harbor criticisms of any club, its coach, or its strategies and policies,» as stated in an August correspondence from the league’s management council to NFLPA general counsel Tom DePaso that has been disclosed by ESPN.
Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins have received top scores for their workplace environments, with Zygi Wilf from the Vikings, Stephen Ross from the Dolphins, and Arthur Blank from the Atlanta Falcons earning A-plus ratings.
During the NFL league meeting in March, New York Jets chairman Woody Johnson—along with Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, Michael Bidwill of the Arizona Cardinals, and David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers—all received ownership grades of D or lower, and referred to the survey as «entirely fabricated,» suggesting it breaches the CBA.
Johnson expressed his concerns regarding «the methods used to gather the information [and] the sources from whom it was collected. [It] was meant to comply with the agreement we hold with the league. The process is supposed to involve representatives from both sides to ensure the survey’s honesty.
«That, in my view, was not adhered to. I’ll keep it at that, but numerous owners viewed the survey as unjust, skewed, and non-representative of the entire player base.»
An owner remarked to ESPN that «the only owners who disapprove of [the report cards] are those receiving poor grades.»
