Ja’Wuan James’ season-ending off-site injury thrust himself square in the middle of a broiling controversy between his employers — the Denver Broncos and the National Football League — and his union, the NFL Players Association. I should say former employers, as the Broncos on Friday opted to release him, sparking the next chapter in the fight.
The injury came in the midst of a tug-of-war between the two parties, with the union trying to push for an end to voluntary in-person spring workouts and encouraging its members not to show up to OTAs and to train on their own.