NFL Referee Lockout: Mediation

Almost all of you have seen the recent events with the NFL. The football games are not being refereed in their usually manner. This is obvious and it's true that everyone, including the players and coaches are missing the actual NFL referees. Well despite the issues on the field, the main objective of this blog today is to illustrate that mediation is a conflict resolution technique that is being used so that both the NFL and referees can come to a mutual agreement.


A few days ago, I posted the concept of mediation in conflict resolution. Well the negotiations currently taking place will soon come to a final end, where both parties will need to place their interests ahead of their current positions. This transformation will take place as the mediator will carry the parties through a process called transformative mediation. This form of mediation allows parties to see their role and behaviors in the overall negotiation process. When the parties see their behaviors and its affects on the other side, they will soon transform their feelings. Now this is not as simple as it sounds, nor will it occur overnight. The mediator will also need to act as a negotiator and facilitator to carry out the parties interests and help them come to an agreement. In order for the latter to occur, parties will need to feel empowered. The sense of empowerment will be delivered by the mediator, who will enable the parties to recognize their true feelings, in conjunction with feeling a sense of empowerment. This will ultimately transform their feelings.




Image provided by Bush & Folger


Negative feelings will be shifted towards more positive feelings, where the parties will soon be able to reach a mutual decision. This is not full negotiation, as it is more of a compromise. Nevertheless, the mediator will need to align their role to ensure that parties come to an agreement, without forcing the actual decision making to take place.

Group Whynot provides sports conflict resolution services. Contact us today: info@groupwhynot.com for additional information.

Posted on behalf of Group Whynot.