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The lockout has officially begun

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on March 12, 2011, 12:34 AM EST

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For the first time since 1987, the National League Football has officially entered a work stoppage at midnight ET.

It came with a whimper.

As of 12:33 a.m. ET, the league hasn’t released a statement on the matter. The league-owned NFL Network announced on air that the owners have imposed a lockout on the players, and NFL.com also has a story on it. The Associated Press also confirmed the move.

The start of the lockout will set off a number of legal maneuvers. The players have gone to court in an effort to block the lockout.

The players have filed an antitrust lawsuit — officially known as Brady et al vs. National Football League et al. The owners are expected to try to prove that the NFLPA’s decertification is a sham. That argument could have problems.

All of the legal wrangling above is not something the average NFL fan (and writer) will fully understand. Nor should they have to. Florio will be breaking it all down on PFT in the coming weeks for us to digest.

We knew this day was likely coming, but it doesn’t diminish the strangeness of it all. It’s still unsettling for anyone that loves the game. And you don’t need a law degree to understand the emotional implications.

We keep hearing the word trust thrown around. The players and NFL owners talk about the trust necessary for them to come to an agreement. They clearly don’t trust each other very much right now.

Both sides need to understand they risk losing the trust of a loyal, rabid fanbase. And there isn’t a lawsuit that can solve that.