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Commentary: NIFL daily buzz

by Jerry Hewitt
May 22, 2006 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)


No more bs on anything, letting it all hang out here. I am so sick and tired of one person's attempts to not only destroy indoor football, but more importantly lives involved with the sport.

Comments on the OSC article, NFL to NIFL, No Deal: Very well done, well-documented and not disputed in any way by the NIFL. In my opinion, whoever made the decision to perpetrate this lie should be removed immediately from their position with the NIFL. It is obvious that their intent was to defraud the public, the member teams, players, and sponsors. There can be no other explanation, although I wouldn't be surprised to see the NIFL come out with another bs-filled press release.

The NIFL attorney even admits there is no deal for 2006 and never was. Not in just my opinion, but by the facts, this was a complete lie. Question is, does it stop here or does more have to come to light about the NIFL leadership before teams take action, either within the NIFL rules to change that leadership or legal if they feel the actions constitute fraud. To act now would improve the image of the NIFL almost immediately, to wait till after the season may mean too late to save or improve anything, especially if fires continue to break out.

The unpaid

I could go back to the first year of the NIFL and find players still unpaid. I can still remember the promises of some at the league level promising to cover costs, including players pay, but never lived up to. I think the most disturbing story to me was last seasons Daytona Beach Hawgs. Not only do those players remain unpaid, but the owner of that team still a part of the NIFL as the owner of the Greensboro Revolution. What really struck me about this pay situation was an offer late last season by NIFL leadership to pay the players 50% of what was owed. To me that's just adding insult to injury.

We've all heard the NIFL leadership say the NIFL is a rich league, but so rich it can't afford to make sure it's number one product, the players, are paid. Of course it can be said the league isn't responsible and in truth, that is a fact, but there is such a thing as doing the right thing.

It too obvious to me that the NIFL could care less about people, especially those who contribute to the sport which includes fans and sponsors and of course, players. When the league allows teams in with ownerships who can't even afford to make it halfway through the season it creates credibility problems in those affected markets and globally as well. The indoor football world is small, what happens in one market is felt all over. You burn one market, you lose a chance at others who say no way to the way the NIFL does business and either sign up with a more reputable league or go buy a basketball team.

The other leagues

It's my game, I patented it and you're not going to play because it's my ball and if you don't like it I'll take my ball and go home. That to me seems like the NIFL leaderships attitude on the sport. Never mind the fact that it's the NIFL leaderships business practices that made others start the AIFL, APFL, UIF and maybe the IFL and GLIFL. If the NIFL had been run in a more professional manner over these six years, no doubt in my mind that some, if not all of these leagues wouldn't exist. I'll go so far as to say that had the NIFL business practices been more professional, the af2 would be near dead now instead of growing. It's very obvious the af2 is using all the bad indoor football stuff to promote and grow. I can't blame the NIFL for all of that, but certainly at least 75% of it.

2006, the worst by far

Is this the worst year the NIFL has experienced to date? In my mind it is. By my count the NIFL had 10 new teams come in this season. Big Sky, Charleston, Charlotte, Arkansas, Hammond, Katy, Rapid City, Twin City Tennessee, nd Palm Beach.

  • Hammond quit before the start of the season when they saw the NIFL leadership not fulfilling promises made.
  • Charlotte was forced to quit before the seasons start, when they ended up with no venue.
  • Big Sky is faced with little money, a too small venue, no fan base and no future.
  • Charleston may not have hit the fire watch, but their ownership has faced problems day in and day out with trying to run a business they know nothing about, yet they get no help or support from the NIFL.
  • Arkansas ownership made it about halfway before the money shortage caught up and new ownership had to be found.
  • Katy appears to be doing alright, although ownership is highly frustrated over the way things are in the NIFL and its rumored they will be in another league next season.
  • We all know the Rapid City story, con man sent by league management, reports of other owners being lied to by NIFL leadership to get the Aces voted in, the blame game, he said, she said, well who gives a @$%^ anyway, obviously not the NIFL.
  • Twin City now appears to be having problems, coaches gone, phones disconnected, and game postponed.
  • Tennessee is another joke, players not paid, uniforms repossessed, unpaid bills and in my opinion lie after lie being told on the state of things there.
  • And Palm Beach, no venue.

Well, I see 9 of 10 either gone or having problems. So lets be honest 6 of the 8 who started play should have been allowed in to begin with. I don't know the circumstances of why they were allowed, whether paper work was falsified, background checks not done or what, but the finances of the ownerships alone should have been enough to exclude them in my opinion.

What about returning teams with problems?

  • Greensboro was rumored to have problems with not paying players, rumored also was league money being put in to cure the problem. Greensboro owner was also owner in Daytona Beach and Kissimmee last season and players on both those teams reported as still unpaid. So why is this owner still in the NIFL? It was explained to me that nothing could be done to remove him. If his dues were current, could only be fined. OK, I'll buy that, but if the rules don't allow the league or other owners to remove bad blood, why not change the rules?
  • Dayton is a returning team under new ownership, already has lost their venue and financially obviously in trouble. Wasn't a check made to see if these new owners had the funds to properly run the team? Apparently not.
  • The Lincoln Capitols, maybe the NIFL's biggest joke. Forced into extinction because someone seen St Joseph as a better location. The St Joe ownership didn't have the funds to field a team in the NIFL, but reported strong arm tactics were used to bring them in. They play under the Caps franchise this season, but have been promised full membership by NIFL leadership next season which I question. Doesn't the NIFL ownership get a vote anymore on who joins and who doesn't?
  • Montgomery was the start of the LaMunyon downfall, firing players because they speak out simply because they want to be paid shows the mentality of some ownerships. We all know LaMunyon is out in Montgomery and new ownership in place. This woman had a crap organization in Enid, Oklahoma and was allowed to move it to Rome last season. The people of Rome got lucky when she sold the team, but Montgomery failed in the luck department when the NIFL let her have a team there, then followed up that bad business decision by letting her have another in Tennessee.

So let's see now, 24 teams were to start the 2006 NIFL season. Two disappeared shortly before the seasons start, 7 of the new teams have or are facing major problems, four returning or relocated teams reported with problems. Forget the two that didn't start, that leaves 11 with problems reported, 11 of 22, 50%. I have a feeling the number may actually be higher as some problems may be just well hidden at this point.

I'm a realist, I know teams have problems, can't get away from that no matter how hard you try, but fifty percent in my book is too many and I have to believe NIFL leadership is at fault and should be held accountable.

Appearances aren't everything

It would appear the NIFL leadership is trying to fool people into thinking the league is something it really isn't. I've said before I believe numbers is how the NIFL leadership looks at success. The NIFL official website is a prime example of numbers and trying to deceive the public.

Miami isn't playing, now admitted in some circles to actually be the Florida Frenzy, like we didn't know that. But Florida and Miami both get a spot on the official site, even though only one is actually playing. Charlotte and Hammond both occupy a spot, although both are long since out of the picture. Southwest Louisiana and San Angelo are still on the site although they are playing in the Intense Football League. The official site gives the impression of 27 teams, five more than the real number.

NFL to NIFL ......... NO DEAL!

Want to further the deception idea? How about these statements, NFL Partnership, NFL Officiating Department Heads NIFL Officiating and address where to send application to be an NIFL referee being none other than the NFL in New York. This is nothing short of a lie. The NFL has said there is no deal, but the NIFL leadership doesn't care, afraid maybe to come clean on things with the public and the member teams. Just another example of the bad direction things in the NIFL are going.

The state of the NIFL

In my opinion, the NIFL no longer serves a useful purpose in the world of indoor football. There are some teams that are a credit to the sport and should find reputable leagues to join. It's just a fact the NIFL is dying, maybe on life support right now. It may be around next season in one form or another, but under current NIFL leadership will never be a leader in the sport again. I say this openly to all NIFL teams, leave at seasons end if change is not made. If you stay, well nobody to blame but yourself when things get worse and trust me, they will.

What is the answer?

I've concluded that there is no such thing as the perfect league, not now, nor will there ever be. Even the NFL isn't perfect, but maybe as close as we'll ever see.

What I hear most often from teams, owners, fans, etc., is in essence they want an af2 type managed league on a NIFL budget. I don't believe this is impossible, although maybe not realistic. As I've mentioned before nothing worth having comes without sacrifice. There may be monetary sacrifices, but mostly it's all about the sacrifice that comes with the dedication to build something better.

You have to have people involved at the league level who honestly believe in what they are going and not looking at a paycheck. You have to have people who are willing to sacrifice time and effort to make things work in the right way. On the other side of the coin, you need teams that are willing to stop thinking of themselves and look towards what is good for all. I'm sorry but I don't really see this combination in any current league.

Teams have to be willing to let the league have the tools to be able to make things work. That means rules with strong penalties for a starter.

Teams can have a league office that actually works for them, not against them, but it does require dedicated people like I said. It wouldn't cost teams a small fortune to have a functional well staffed league office, one that supports itself and doesn't just take from the teams, but actually does give back in the way of support and even with dollars from national sponsorships.

I could go on and on about being able to have a very professional league, one that all seem to want, but what's the point, I don't see any real interest beyond talk for such a thing. I don't believe teams are ready to make the sacrifices needed.

Saying goodbye

When I can no longer find anything positive to say about the NIFL, it really is time to just say goodbye and find other entertainment for my life. Thanks to all for the last six years!. Hopefully a few teams will be doing the same before too long.

Firestorm engulfs all it touches

Those that seen the fires exploding into this firestorm already prepared for the fall out. Those who are not prepared are urged to find shelter in the safest league available to you. To not move, to not seek shelter means certain death.



National Indoor Football League Stories from May 22, 2006


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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