The MLS labor negotiations are at a fever pitch as the MLS season is slated to begin on March 6. Unfortunately, the CBA has not yet been signed, so that got me thinking about the potential use of replacement players in MLS, and my opinion on the topic. The few uses of replacement players that I could find were as follows: MLB in 1995 after the 1994 season was effectively canceled. They had to use them for a few weeks, but only for spring training. The US national soccer team has used replacement players before in 2005, but no games were played with the lower-tier players. In more recent times, the trend has been to lock out all of the personnel and cancel games and/or entire seasons in order to proceed with negotiations. For example, there was no 2006-07 NHL season, and part of a recent NBA season was also canceled, leading to dramatic shifts in the value of the leagues.
It is for that reason that I think MLS should get their labor house in order before playing any games. It would greatly hurt teams such as the Cosmos and other NASL teams as their players would be pressured to play in MLS and forego their NASL commitments, and I would like to see those NASL players play in the NASL, as per their contracts with the NASL teams. However, if a lockout were to happen, it would be a grand revolution for the NASL as more eyes will be glued to that league, using the potential MLS lockout to their advantage. However, only one league would benefit from this, and the rest of them would suffer greatly with a lockout. Well, if those leagues would like to be at the mercy of MLS, let them. They will suffer all the same.
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