Birds' Weaver says stop treating us ‘like slaves'

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Posted: 7:45 p.m.

CSNPhilly.com

Earlier this month, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson called the NFLs current business model and labor stance modern-day slavery.

On Tuesday, a heated Leonard Weaver, speaking with CSNs Derrick Gunn from Birmingham, Ala. where he is rehabbing his injured knee, agreed with Petersons sentiment.

We as players want to make a statement that you know what, we love playing for you all, we love your owners, you know? We love you guys very much, but at the same time we need to see some equal opportunity here and stop treating us basically like Adrian Peterson said, like slaves, Weaver said.

Weaver continued on to say that the labor dispute is about more than just money.

We as players, we are an important part of this agreement here and an important part of this league, he said. We care about our benefits and who we are. Its not just about money, but its about our livelihood after the game of football.

I want people to understand that we as players are gonna stand strong in our opinion and were gonna really fight this thing until it gets solved.

As for when this situation gets solved, Weaver is not so sure.

Right now, I think that we as players, we really want to be treated equally and we really want this thing to come to an end, Weaver said. But at the same time we are ready to take the necessary steps that we need to as a union and as players sticking together to say, Look, were not all about this lying and trying to be two-faced and trying to show the public one way or say one thing to the public and make it look bad on us. Hey, we are going to stand our ground and do what we believe and we are going to stick through until something comes down to it.

Weaver and Peterson join Albert Haynesworth as players to recently compare their place in the NFL to that of a slave. All three are among the highest-paid players at their position.
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