This exciting New England Patriots off-season keeps getting better. Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler has been held out of practice for the past three weeks for showing late, which is a pretty standard punishment for Bill Belichick. The issue is that the Patriots have withheld Butler from voluntary workouts, unlike the mandatory practices Belichick typically punishes for absences.
This is a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Safe to assume the NFLPA is looking into the Malcolm Butler situation. CBA terms in play here. pic.twitter.com/SQFgwBUtJ9
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 10, 2015
Per source, the NFLPA is indeed looking into potential violation of CBA Article 21, Section 5(a) by the Patriots -- re: Malcolm Butler.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 10, 2015
This falls in line with clubs having too much contact at minicamps and OTAs, often punished with a loss of practice time.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 10, 2015
And to follow up on @jeffphowe's, source says Malcolm Butler has taken this in stride, not rocking the boat, has been at everything since.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 10, 2015
Precedence implies that teams found in violation will be punished with a loss of practice time, which means that the Patriots will probably lose their draft picks until the year 2027. Butler seems to be handling the punishment well. The issue is that there shouldn't have been any punishment at all.
Of course, fifteen teams are currently under investigation for breaking camp rules. I guarantee that this Butler story will get far more air time.