MLS Negotiating Deadline Passes Without Deal or Strike

The Major League Soccer Players Union didn't fold as Thursday's deadline to reach a new labor agreement passed, but it certainly blinked as its long-running standoff with the league continued.

Fears that the players may strike, which were fueled by some pretty passionate rhetoric over the past week, came to nothing, and it appears that teams will continue their preseason preparations absent a deal.

In a statement, MLSPU executive director Bob Foose said:

"While we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn't been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement. We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA.

"In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continued. We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated."

The time to strike, if they must, is now. A stoppage beginning Friday would still give negotiators a month to strike a deal before the MLS regular season kicks off. A walk-out would give the players a little more leverage than they have now, which isn't much, and wouldn't result in any lost games, revenue or public sympathy.

Are they going to go through the motions for the next two weeks, prepare for the season without a CBA and then strike the week of the opener? It's either that, or return to the table and find a compromise.

MLS said: "We have told the players union that the league does not plan to lock out the players and we are prepared to begin the season under the current CBA while we continue to bargain to reach agreement on a new CBA.

"We have listened to the issued raised by the MLS Players Union and the league has made detailed proposals that have addressed those issues, including in the areas of economics, guaranteed contracts, options and the ability of a player to move to another MLS club if he is released by his current club.

"These proposals, which represent substantial changes from the current CBA, will significantly increase our spending and provide substantially more rights to the players."

If that's true, then MLS should release details of its proposals. Anyone who follows American soccer knows it's not a profitable enterprise, and if MLS is serious about making some meaningful concessions, it should force the players to choose publicly between a real compromise and contributing to an impasse that would represent a significant step backward for the pro game in this country.

Everyone knows that progress must be gradual and incremental, and if MLS is telling the truth in its statement, the players would be subject to significant backlash if they chose to ignore those overtures and strike.

The time for MLS to play hardball has come.