The absurdity of the 2011 NFL Lockout continues to grow in leaps and bounds as personal relationships are now being affected. Raiders 2011 NFL Draft pick Stefan Wisniewski was brought in as a potential long-term answer at the center position, or at least somewhere on the interior of the offensive line. As a new offensive lineman with the Raiders, one of his coaches will be his uncle, Steve Wisniewski who is the assistant line coach in Oakland. Unfortunately due to the lockout, the Wisniewski’s have not spoken in even a family sense outside of the one day the lockout was lifted in April.
As the lockout wears on the league has mandated there be no contact between team employees and players until the labor dispute is resolved. This puts personal relationships in a bit of a bind. Another example would be Giants head coach Tom Coughln and his son-in-law, Giants guard Chris Snee. The league has apparently not been overly strict with these kinds of family relationships, but Stefan and Steve Wisniewski have indicate they prefer to play it safe.
It just goes to show how ridiculous this whole situation is becoming. When an uncle and nephew do not feel comfortable chatting about even family stuff, there’s clearly a problem.