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Player Strike Would Be Bad for MLS

By Chris Blakely

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Doug McIntyre of ESPN tweeted out yesterday that according to Omar Gonzalez, MLS players are prepared to go on strike if a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) can’t be reached before the 2015 MLS season begins in March.

This would be bad for the players and MLS in general if this was to happen. I know you are all smart and understand why this would be bad. MLS has been gaining popularity these last few years and the league is at an all-time high in attendance. They are getting bigger named players from across the world to join the league. United States Men’s National Team players are deciding to come back to the United States in the prime of their careers, rather than at the end.

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    • Looking for an example?

    Look at Jozy Altidore and Mix Diskerud. I know Altidore hasn’t been tearing it up as of late but for a 24-year-old player to come back to MLS at such a young age, it’s a sign of good things to come. Diskerud is 24 as well and his name has been linked to MLS for the past few seasons and he is a player on the rise.

    What happens if they go on strike?

    First things first, MLS would lose fans. If you don’t believe me, look at the attendance numbers the following year or two after other leagues have gone on strike. NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB have all suffered in attendance. Why hurt someone who has helped build you to the status you have at this moment?

    Not only does it affect attendance, it can hurt television deals. MLS will be entering into a new TV deal for the 2015 MLS season and a strike shortened season could be the worst possible thing to happen. Not only will it upset the higher-ups in these companies, but it will have an effect on future deals down the road.

    Some people say get rid of the single entity setup that MLS has. I feel that if they do that, the league will suffer. If a small market team has a few bad seasons, the lack of money not coming in will hurt their bottom line and possibly cause teams to fold. MLS doesn’t want that and they certainly don’t need that right now on the heels of the Chivas USA debacle.

    Lastly if MLS goes on strike, they will be the laughing stock in the world of soccer. Don Garber has stated many times that by 2020 he wants MLS to be one of the top leagues in the world, if not number one. If they can’t get a new CBA in place before the start of the season, it will set his goal of being number one back years. That is the last thing that MLS and Garber want. It is also the last thing that I want to happen as a fan and supporter of MLS.

    Next: Players Prepared to Strike

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