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Leiweke Says MLS Strike Would Be A Big Mistake For Players
The AEG chief is not happy about current state of CBA negotiations.
Mar 16, 2010 2:54:00 PM
By Shane Evans
Tim Leiweke, chief executive of AEG, the company that owns the Los Angeles Galaxy has apparently had his fill of the player’s side of the CBA negotiations lately.
"I don't even know how to react when I hear the players now saying that we have treated them poorly and they're going to strike,” said Leiweke to the Los Angeles Times. “The fact is, the Galaxy isn't going to make money this year. There are only a couple of [MLS] teams that will make money this year.
"It's not like this league is a work of completion. It's not like we have accomplished what we have to accomplish to be stable and to know we have a great future. It's not like we have reached the potential of a soccer league in this country.”
Despite the ongoing troubles with the talks, Leiweke is hopeful that the league isn’t solely dependent on his company and they remain dedicated to soccer in this country.
"I would hope that the league has gotten to a point where it's no longer solely dependent on AEG," Leiweke said. "We have been fighting this battle for 10 years. Some of these [players] forget what we have put into it and they're acting like the hard work and the money and the time and the energy and the passion that we've put into this, they all seem to forget about that."
Hailing the collective spirit of the league since it’s creation, Leiweke stressed that they’ve been through tough spells before and have managed to come out united, but he realizes things may be a bit different this time around.
"It would have been easy for us to quit over the last 10 years," he said. "There were five different times we could have called it a day. But we didn't. We fought through it. So for them to suddenly threaten that they're going to shut it all down, I'm a little amazed at the lack of respect they show for the commitment that we all have made to get the league to where it's at today."
The labor negotiations have been extended until to the start of the season, at which point if no agreement has been made, the players have agreed to strike.
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"I don't even know how to react when I hear the players now saying that we have treated them poorly and they're going to strike,” said Leiweke to the Los Angeles Times. “The fact is, the Galaxy isn't going to make money this year. There are only a couple of [MLS] teams that will make money this year.
"It's not like this league is a work of completion. It's not like we have accomplished what we have to accomplish to be stable and to know we have a great future. It's not like we have reached the potential of a soccer league in this country.”
Despite the ongoing troubles with the talks, Leiweke is hopeful that the league isn’t solely dependent on his company and they remain dedicated to soccer in this country.
"I would hope that the league has gotten to a point where it's no longer solely dependent on AEG," Leiweke said. "We have been fighting this battle for 10 years. Some of these [players] forget what we have put into it and they're acting like the hard work and the money and the time and the energy and the passion that we've put into this, they all seem to forget about that."
Hailing the collective spirit of the league since it’s creation, Leiweke stressed that they’ve been through tough spells before and have managed to come out united, but he realizes things may be a bit different this time around.
"It would have been easy for us to quit over the last 10 years," he said. "There were five different times we could have called it a day. But we didn't. We fought through it. So for them to suddenly threaten that they're going to shut it all down, I'm a little amazed at the lack of respect they show for the commitment that we all have made to get the league to where it's at today."
The labor negotiations have been extended until to the start of the season, at which point if no agreement has been made, the players have agreed to strike.
Become a fan of Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game
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