ST. PAUL, Minn. — The NFL and its locked-out players have been ordered to start talking again.
The federal judge hand-ling the lawsuit against the league told both sides Monday they will participate in court-supervised mediation, saying she still is considering whether to grant the players’ request to lift the lockout that’s been in place for a month.
The players got their wish, with the talks held in the federal courts in Minnesota rather than the collective bargaining setting where the two sides unsuccessfully met last month.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said formal mediation will begin Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan at his office in the Minneapolis federal courthouse. Boylan will meet with representatives for the players today, then representatives of the NFL on Wednesday.
The two sides tried mediation previously, negotiating for 16 days in Washington with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service director George Cohen. Those talks broke off March 11 and the old collective bargaining agreement expired.
The NFL Players Association dissolved that day, saying it no longer would represent players in bargaining under labor law. That allowed players — including MVP quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — to file a class-action antitrust suit against the league in federal court in Minne-sota. The owners then locked out the players, creating the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987.
