The signing of a new "Universal Declaration of Player Rights" is meant to ensure that athletes in North America and around the globe enjoy the same rights that are guaranteed to workers in other industries, union and player association leaders said at a press conference today. "The importance of the declaration is actually philosophically bigger than the issue of collective bargaining," NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith said. "It's reminding everyone that where we start in this process is the men and women who play sports did not choose to give up the basic human right that we would want for every worker. So the way it helps collective bargaining is it ensures the starting place for collective bargaining is that athletes are somehow not less protected than ordinary workers."
MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark and NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts. also were among the union and players association leaders present at the unveiling of the declaration. Smith noted that the declaration puts in writing that certain rights -- including gender equality, the right to privacy and the right to work in a sport free of corruption -- are protected. It also shows that sports union leaders in North America support efforts by players in other countries to gain the rights and freedoms that athletes in North America enjoy.
