For Midget Fans: Why John Mara cheated

[SkinsHokieFan]

Reading posts today on our forum, and on various forums of our opponents this week (I will not refer to them by name) it is clear there is a massive amount of ignorance in that collective fanbase as to why John Mara is a cheater, should be tarred and feathered, and should be banned from the NFL for something so blatant (hell if users of 'roids face bans, so should this jerk)

In essence, the Redskins moved bonus dollars from the Haynesworth and Hall contracts into the uncapped 2010 year when the last CBA expired. Note the key word: uncapped year. In addition, these contract moves were approved by the NFL office.

I don’t want to make our case here,” Jones added. “But all of our contracts were approved by the league and you can’t approve a contract that is in violation of league rules. You can’t even get it on the books if it isn’t in sync with league rules. So you start there.”

Mr. Mara was so angry about this, as head of the management council he pushed for significant penalties, including draft picks to be stripped.

Some reading material from Mike Florio (who is a Steelers fan, grew up in WVA, and is NOT a Redskins fan like you numskulls thought last spring), who did a fantastic job covering the story.

“There were no rules or agreements broken by the Redskins, the Cowboys, or any other Club with respect to Player Contracts executed in the 2010 League Year.”

Mara says Redskins, Cowboys are lucky they didn’t lose draft picks

Seriously. **** that guy

"What they did was in violation of the spirit of the salary cap. They attempted to take advantage of a one-year loophole, and quite frankly, I think they’re lucky they didn’t lose draft picks. . . . They attempted to take advantage of it knowing full well there would be consequences.”

As Florio correctly states

The league’s effort to get teams to honor restrictions on the uncapped year that didn’t appear in the CBA constitutes collusion.

League requires Cowboys, Redskins to take half their cap reductions in 2012


So instead of being able to push off the entire penalty to 2013 and fight for a year (As was originally an option) the Redskins and Cowboys were forced to eat half up front

Its very clear that a) there was uncapped year b) collusion took place in that uncapped year c) the NFL originally approved these contracts d) there were no rules broken and e) John Mara was so butthurt that his division rivals could make moves and he couldn't that he pushed the Management Council to impose penalties on his division rivals (as opposed to teams like the Bucs who UNDERSPENT in the uncapped year)

And of course, he talked so much **** about it, the NFLPA decided to sue the NFL for collusion

I'm not sure John Mara should be talking

Judge Considers Lawsuit

Jeffrey Kessler, the union's lead lawyer, claimed the players only learned of the secret cap through the media. He cited comments made earlier this year by New York Giants owner John Mara, when the penalties were issued by the league, as evidence of the conspiracy.

"They attempted to take advantage of it knowing full well there would be consequences," Mara said then, referring to his team's NFC East rivals. "They were trying to take advantage and they were told not to."

Of course, now the NFL disagrees with Mr. Mara

From the NFL

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...o-edged-sword/

It’s a strong presentation of facts and law. But, as the league seems to do from time to time, it brief goes one step too far, at page 13: “There were no rules or agreements broken by the Redskins, the Cowboys, or any other Club with respect to Player Contracts executed in the 2010 League Year.”

That assertion is backed by a sworn affidavit from Peter Ruocco, senior V.P. of labor relations for the NFL Management Council, who says at paragraph 12 that “[n]o rules or agreements were broken” by the Redskins or Cowboys, even though total salary cap penalties of $46 million were imposed against the two teams. At paragraph 3 of the affidavit, Ruocco denies that he told NFLPA general counsel Tom DePaso in March 2012 “that the League believed that the Redskins and Cowboys had secured an unfair advantage over Clubs that committed lesser amounts to players in 2010 than did those Clubs.”

Yea, **** that guy.

[PortisBetts]

Yea, **** that guy! Stomp them in the ground this week.

[Destructis]

Seriously, it's over and done with. Get over it. We aren't getting any of the cap money back. We all agree Mara is a douche.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

What Mara is complaining of sounds like text book unfair labor practice to me. The only thing that can save him and the NFL appears to be the settlement agreement that was entered into before the new labor agreement was ratified. I don't know which way this goes, legally.... but Mara definitely cheated the Skins and the Cowboys because they did NOT engage in illegal activity.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Seriously, it's over and done with. Get over it. We aren't getting any of the cap money back. We all agree Mara is a douche.

I am just here to educate. The amount of ignorance on this by fans of our opponents is staggering.

[Thirtyfive2seven]

I agree, **** him. But while we're at it **** Tiki Barber for killing the skins in so many games. **** Lavar for going there and talking massive amounts of ****. **** Thomas because he's a douchebag and recovered a fumble that may have turned the game for the Giants. **** Antonio Pierce for countless things he's said. Just **** em all!

[Pride]

The horse has been beaten into glue. Everyone (Gnat fans included but won't admit it) knows Mara's a piece of **** so lets move on.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

I want this game more than any other game the last 21 years since the 3rd Lombardi.

And I firmly believe, just as his father's passing inspired the Giants to great heights back in '05; the current crop of Redskins will take inspiration from Mara's misdeeds toward their team and play well above themselves for an upset win Sunday.

Hail.

[Riggo-toni]

Beautiful thread title!
Let's not forget the NFL owners were already busted for not negotiating in good faith by agreeing with networks for lower TV revenues in exchange for guaranteed pay if the players were to strike. There can be no question that what Mara has said constitutes collusion.
Imagine a successful suit so that next year we get reimbursed with extra cap space. 2 new safeties, 2 new OL, a new CB....

[Boss_Hogg]

John Mara is a piece of cheating ****.

[Inigo Montoya]

I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion of "getting over it" ... we got screwed, real bad. $36 mil in cap space could be the difference between having and not having a SB contender. i'm not gettin over it any time soon.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

I want this game more than any other game the last 21 years since the 3rd Lombardi.

And I firmly believe, just as his father's passing inspired the Giants to great heights back in '05; the current crop of Redskins will take inspiration from Mara's misdeeds toward their team and play well above themselves for an upset win Sunday.

Hail.

I'd be willing to bet most players don't care/aren't even aware of what happened...this is a big deal to the fans and maybe the FO.

It doesn't affect the players. Hell, if it wasn't for the whole thing, some wouldn't even be on the team.

We should want to win because it's a 1st place game...

---------- Post added October-16th-2012 at 02:33 PM ----------

Idk...I'm over it. No use whining about **** that won't change...let's just win Sunday

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

The Hell it doesn't effect the players.

If it wasn't for what happened, they'd have a stronger team right here, right now going forward. Don't tell me that's not lost on them.

Shanahan's pre-game motivation should be simple. Pin up a picture of Mara, and the rest should take care of itself.

Hail.

[SkinsHokieFan]

I don't understand this concept of "getting over it"

Yea, the money isn't coming back. But this should be brought up constantly because Mara's reputation deserves to be tainted for this deliberate act of cheating.

If Barry Bonds is forever tainted for his cheating, Lance Armstrong for his, so should John Mara

[Koala]

Uhh, so I scoured your posts and links for any new information that we havent known since March, and I couldnt really find it. I also couldnt find any direct answer to the question of "Why John Mara cheated,", other than the same speculation that crossed everybody's mind the second this story broke. What am I missing here? Why is this post-worthy, nevermind thread-worthy? Where's the new information, or unique viewpoint?