D-DAY ON AFL SEASON NEARS: PLAYERS FILE COMPLAINT WITH NLRB

          AFL players yesterday "filed a complaint" with the
     NLRB's office in Tampa, alleging that the league's 18 owners
     are "forcing them to form a union they don't want to join,"
     according to Richard Obert of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC, who
     reports that AFL owners are meeting Wednesday in Chicago "to
     determine the season's fate."  The complaint claims that
     owners "coerced players to give up their rights under
     federal law to refrain from forming or supporting a union." 
     It also stated that owners "withheld pay and benefits from
     players who refused to support the owners' union."  The
     complaint added that the owners "threatened to fire players
     and blacklist them from playing or coaching in the league
     again" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/22).  In Albany, Mark Singelais
     reported that the Teamsters Union is "encouraging" players
     to form a collective-bargaining unit that would negotiate
     with the AFL.  Singelais: "If a union is formed, the players
     would forfeit their right to sue the league under the
     antitrust laws" (Albany TIMES UNION, 2/19).