Labor board dismisses Okung's complaint vs. NFLPA

The National Labor Relations Board rejected Russell Okung's complaint against the NFL Players Association, according to a letter obtained by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Okung is likely to file an appeal by his May 20 deadline, a source told Pelissero.

The Carolina Panthers offensive tackle filed his complaint in March, alleging the NFLPA negotiated the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in bad faith. He accused NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith of overriding the executive committee to push the owners' proposed CBA to team representatives and then to the full membership.

Okung was among the players irate over the approval of an expansion to 17 regular-season games. He said the introduction of a 17th contest went against the union's stated priority of serving its members' health and safety.

The 31-year-old Okung was traded to the Panthers in March after spending the previous three seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.