NFL players locked out from concerts, too

The NFL lockout means players can't enter the league's stadiums for any reason: to work out, meet with coaches or even attend concerts.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports about this unforeseen consequence of the NFL lockout and its effect on Kenny Chesney's tour, which will stop at 10 NFL stadiums this year:

"If you're in the NFL [players union], you can't go to your stadium, you can't work out at your stadium, you can't talk to your coaches," says Chesney, who has 10 NFL venues (including Green Bay's Lambeau Field) on his 2011 itinerary. When he played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home turf last week, "we had all baseball players there. We had a lot of Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees who were down there for spring training." 

"But at West Palm [Beach], we had a ton of NFL players. I saw [guard Steve] Hutchinson from the Vikings. If we were to play the Dome up there, he couldn't come to the show."

This rule is almost as ridiculous as the Star Tribune's use of brackets in quotes. Does the NFL really think locked-out players are going to buy concert tickets in a ruse to access their teams' workout facilities?

Furthermore, how would they enforce this rule? All an NFL player needs to do is throw on a trucker hat and a pair of aviators and they'll blend right in with 70,000 other Kenny Chesney fans. Is Bob Kraft gonna man the Gillette Stadium entrance to make sure Tom Brady isn't sneaking in to see Taylor Swift?