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4th March 2015
04:31pm GMT
This policy of central ownership, known as 'Single Entity', is rooted in the disastrous collapse of America’s first pro league, the NASL, in the mid 1980s, and is now well beyond its sell by date and the MLS should be strong enough, and brave enough, to stand on its merits.
That is the view of the players, and it includes the view of Robbie Keane. Our record goalscorer is easily the golden boy of the league these days and Keane is prepared to strike for their rights.
Keane told SI earlier this month: “I’m supportive of the guys. I spoke to [Galaxy teammate and MLSPU executive board member] Todd [Dunivant] about it and he asked my views and I said, ‘I’m 100 percent behind this. We all have to be united together,'" Keane said.
Keane, as one of the marquee ‘Designated Player’ signings, was able to choose his team and negotiate a wage comparable to that of a player in Europe, making him one of the lucky ones but he is behind a strike if the players vote for it and he believes the league needs to change its policy on player ownership.
“If you want to move forward, you certainly have to have the same way of thinking as the European clubs and the European leagues,” he said. “Players should be able to have that freedom. I feel like the players feel like [MLS has] a hold on them. They have a leash on them and they can’t get off. I think it’s a problem for the players.”
The MLS owners don’t want free agency as they see the possibility of clubs fighting against each other for players, and driving themselves financially into the ground, especially as most still make a loss. The league’s view is that money should be spent on growing the game, either by investment in facilities, young players or in bringing in big names, not on clubs bidding against each other.
So far, discussions have seen free agency being offered to players aged over 32 with 10 years service at one club (only applicable to one player in the league right now) and a further concession of players over 28 with eight years service at one club. Neither option comes close to what the players’ union feels is required.
As we know, with most of the players on very low wages, they certainly can’t afford to miss week after week of pay cheques if a lockout does happen. The Union could cover them for a while but the owners probably know the players need the league more than the league needs the players.
However, in the hyper competitive world of US sport, self-inflicted strikes are damaging. The NHL’s infamous strike of 1994-95 severely hurt that sport for years and some argue it never recovered. It is also worth noting that ice hockey was stronger in that period than an admittedly growing domestic soccer game is in 2015.
As it stands, both sides are still in discussions in Washington DC and the league is still due to kick off with champions LA Galaxy taking on Chicago Fire in the early hours of Saturday morning Irish time.
Time will tell if that comes to pass, or if the players will be granted similar rights to virtually every other footballer on Earth.Explore more on these topics:
