from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

As we have heard from inside the dressing room of the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s a complicated balance between being a teammate and a union brother.

Le’Veon Bell’s ongoing holdout has not been unilaterally supported by fellow NFLPA members inside that Steelers room. In fact, they’re more worried about the effect Bell’s holdout has on the Steelers’ success, than whether it provides any rising salary tide for running backs across the National Football League.

In hockey, more often, it works the other way. The rare player who does hold out tends to self-reflect over the effect his absence has on his team.

It’s just the way hockey players are raised. “Hockey is a team-first game,” Darnell Nurse said on Monday, after signing a two-year, $6.4 million deal that will have him back at Oilers training camp on Tuesday morning.

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