NFL Lockout: Should Cam Newton and Other Rookies Attend 2011 NFL Draft?

What is an 18 to 22-year-old to do when he has been forced, by circumstances beyond his control, to pick between the NFL owners and the Players Association?

It seems that is a decision the incoming rookie class will have to make, since rumors been that the player association has encouraged some rookies to boycott the draft became public.

The players have been locked out by the owners and the players have recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL.

The incoming rookie class has been thrust into an awkward situation, to say the least.

The NFL Draft, which just last year was tradition, the thing that always happens before football continues in the fall, now has symbolic significance to the on going labor dispute.

ESPN covers the draft for close to 48 straight hours. They interview the rookies in their garish new suits, and show the newcomers taking photos with the commissioner. It's a huge event that creates NFL related content for months and makes the a truck load of money for the league.

Why should the players be trotted about like show ponies to profit the owners who have been so unwilling to cooperate with players demands?

For many of the players in the draft, hearing their name called and walking up to the podium to accept a spot in the NFL is a life long dream. It's hard to ask a rookie to skip out on that life changing day.

But skipping out may be the better career move.

If and when the season starts again, it would be better for a rookie to walk into the locker room and have his older teammates know he was on the side of the players from the start.

Furthermore, the NFL will still be locked out after the Draft whether the players attend or not. But after they sign their contracts they will ultimately be represented by the same Players Association that has encouraged them to boycott in the first place.

If big name players like Cam Newton or Patrick Peterson skip the Draft it will speak volumes of the solidarity amongst the players.

More importantly, it could be the wake up call to the owners, and the Players Association too, that brings them back together and talking so we can all enjoy football in the fall.