DeMaurice Smith said Tuesday he's happy a federal judge lifted the NFL's lockout, but he's upset the league has allowed a state of chaos by allowing players to show up at team facilities but not use their weight rooms. "To be in a state where the National Football League is allowing this kind of chaos to occur ... I'm not sure it's good for football in the long run, the NFLPA's executive director said in an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning." Smith said he's been told that some teams have given their strength and conditioning coaches the day off Tuesday, a move he called "petty". "This is just not good for our fans. It's not great for our players. To be in a world where guys are showing up because they want to play football and they're being told to go home ... I'm not sure it's the right way to treat our fans," he said. The Bears told kicker Robbie Gould that he "could not work out until clarification comes from the judge's ruling. "I spoke to both Stein and team president Ted Phillips, and they claimed the reason players won't be able to work out is because of fiscal liability," he told ESPNChicago.com. "They just don't want to run the financial risk of anyone getting hurt." NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said any player who shows up at team facilities will be allowed in and "treated courteously and with respect." "We are going to proceed in an orderly way that is fair to the teams and players and complies with court orders," he said in a statement. "We do not believe it is appropriate for football activities to take place until there are further rulings from the court. Under the last set of proposals made to the NFLPA, teams wouldn't even be into offseason programs yet. We need a few days to sort this out, as NFLPA attorney Jim Quinn indicated last night." Jets players said they were granted access to the facility, but they described it as a scene from "The Shining" -- closed doors and empty hallways. Source: ESPN
