BY RIDGE MAHONEY Court dates and more court dates loom for the two opposing sides in the legal battle between MLS and its players. A meditation session held Wednesday before retired Massachusetts state judge Neil Lynch did nothing to bring the sides closer to a settlement. “There were discussions, but I’m precluded from stating what was discussed,” said Jeffrey Kessler, lead counsel for the players’ representation, the NFL Players Association. “The judge’s full-time job is to try to create settlements and he was unsuccessful.” The two sides have discussed settlements in the past. MLS has reportedly proposed limited free agency starting at age 32 and small increases in the minimum salary ($24,000), but league officials have publicly stated they will not negotiate while the litigation is pending. The lawsuit was filed in February 1997. The appeal will thus move ahead to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel will review legal briefs over the next few months and then hear oral arguments. No new evidence can be presented during the appeal process. NFLPA is seeking to overturn a summary judgment by Judge George O’Toole that the MLS single-entity structure is legal as well as a jury decision last December that U.S. Soccer and MLS did not violate antitrust laws when the federation granted MLS exclusive Division I status in 1995. The mediation session was held one day after attorneys Steve Gans and Neil Jacobs announced they have dropped their plans to challenge the NFLPA’s representation of MLS players. “It’s a pity, but this is only about the millionth time in the history of American professional soccer that an opportunity to do something good for the sport and help inculcate it in our culture has been lost by lack of vision,” said Gans, who had sought to form a union and draft a collective bargaining agreement with the league and players. Gans played briefly for the MISL Baltimore Blast and also worked in that club’s front office. He is legal counsel for a Boston-area publishing company. “Based on our reading of things,” said Gans, “we believe the league is not prepared to engage in enlightened self-interest at this point and would rather see through the litigation rather than turn to collective bargaining. “It’s a shame, it’s regrettable, but it’s not surprising.” Gans and Jacobs could assume representation through a players’ vote while the lawsuit is pending but have declined to make an attempt. “From talking with various people associated with the sport, the information that we have is that the league wants to come to some finality with the litigation before moving on,” said Jacobs, an attorney at the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr who is the outside chief legal counsel for the Boston Celtics. “[The two sides] are making different mistakes but they’re related,” said Jacobs. “The NFLPA’s view is the only way you can make any progress is to terrorize it through economic activity, and that won’t work, because the league doesn’t make any money. “It’s hard to threaten somebody where if they shut down they’d be better off than if they continued operating. “On the league’s part, I don’t think they’re prepared to trust the players to do the right thing in support of the league. Perhaps their reason for that is that the players have selected the NFLPA.” (Ridge Mahoney is a senior editor at Soccer America Magazine.)