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If Gary Bettman were a hostage negotiator, everyone would have been dead for days.
Bettman needs some time away from the negotiating table, suggesting to the NHL Players Association that both sides take a two-week break from discussions in an effort to rethink their positions on the ongoing NHL lockout.
There are a billion reasons why this negotiating tactic is ridiculous, and it's the next gaffe in a line of impossible-to-conceive public relations nightmares through which Bettman has run these discussions.
The man has been through this before, less than a decade ago, but it seems as if he's never handled a negotiation in his life. You don’t get to take two-week breaks while the body count of missed regular-season games piles into the hundreds. You can't just step away from the table for two weeks because the other side won't agree to your terms.
Step away for two days, maybe, but not two weeks. Thanksgiving is coming, so it makes sense Bettman would suggest the league and union plan a break on Wednesday to table discussions in an effort to enjoy the holiday weekend with their families. Maybe a little turkey and football—you know, the sport that got its labor dispute settled last year before missing any regular-season games—will give those involved in the NHL negotiations some much-needed perspective.
Stopping for two weeks is asinine. It really doesn't matter which side you are on in the labor dispute, Bettman has destroyed his own (and the owners') public sentiment by suggesting this break. Now, the owners have allowed the union to offer quotes like this, from an email via NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to the Associated Press (h/t Sporting News):
The 25 Most Infuriating Players in the NHL | Bleacher Report
Bettman needs some time away from the negotiating table, suggesting to the NHL Players Association that both sides take a two-week break from discussions in an effort to rethink their positions on the ongoing NHL lockout.
There are a billion reasons why this negotiating tactic is ridiculous, and it's the next gaffe in a line of impossible-to-conceive public relations nightmares through which Bettman has run these discussions.
The man has been through this before, less than a decade ago, but it seems as if he's never handled a negotiation in his life. You don’t get to take two-week breaks while the body count of missed regular-season games piles into the hundreds. You can't just step away from the table for two weeks because the other side won't agree to your terms.
Step away for two days, maybe, but not two weeks. Thanksgiving is coming, so it makes sense Bettman would suggest the league and union plan a break on Wednesday to table discussions in an effort to enjoy the holiday weekend with their families. Maybe a little turkey and football—you know, the sport that got its labor dispute settled last year before missing any regular-season games—will give those involved in the NHL negotiations some much-needed perspective.
Stopping for two weeks is asinine. It really doesn't matter which side you are on in the labor dispute, Bettman has destroyed his own (and the owners') public sentiment by suggesting this break. Now, the owners have allowed the union to offer quotes like this, from an email via NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to the Associated Press (h/t Sporting News):
The 25 Most Infuriating Players in the NHL | Bleacher Report
