(Unrelated picture of Matt Light with a firearm)
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said today that no members of the team had reported to the team's facilities in Foxboro today, on the day after a federal judge ordered an end to the NFL lockout. The league is requesting a stay of that decision and intends to appeal it.
Matt Light, the team's player representative, said at a charity event that he is advising his teammates to "give it a little time" before reporting back to New England.
"Guys are wondering, 'Do I need to get on a plane today? How do I proceed?'" Light said at the Lockout Breakfast, an event he planned earlier this month to benefit the Light Foundation, according to reports. "I can't give them answers to all those things, but hopefully later on tonight I will have more of them."
Light said NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith will be on a conference call tonight to provide updates on the situation.
The judge who yesterday ended the lockout, Amy Nelson, has announced that she will take at least a day before making a decision on whether her ruling should be put on hold pending appeal; the players have until tomorrow morning to file their response to the owners' request for a stay.
Meanwhile, according to reports, a few players for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers have trickled into their team facilities today. They were allowed to enter but not allowed to work out.
Union reps for some other teams advised players to stay away. And a player for the Buffalo Bills, Leodis McKelvin, was turned away when he tried to enter his team's facilities.
I'm imagining a couple of lawyers following the players around: "Now, you're allowed to look at the field, but you're not allowed to think about it. You can use the space adjacent to the toilet, but not the toilet itself." Madness.
