UFL QB Quentin Darmody believes his recent release was due to union activity

The start of the UFLs second season continues to draw closer, despite lingering labor unrest.

Theres currently no Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the players are looking for more than the $55,000 base salary they received a year ago.

Last week, three unnamed players said they were threatened with termination if they boycotted the leagues media days.

This week, a player who was fired by the UFL has gone on the record with a claim that the move arose from his union activities.

Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, quarterback Quentin Darmody believes he was let go by the Memphis Showboats due to his agitation on behalf of all players for a better deal.

I think that was the driving factor , Darmody said.

He contends that, on March 8, Memphis G.M.

Jim Monos called to say Darmody was being released.

Darmody said he got no explanation at the time.

Darmody said that, during a meeting with Monos on March 9, Monos said the decision wasnt based on the quarterbacks performance in training camp.

Darmody said that, on March 10 he received a text that cited his accuracy and footwork for the move.

They trade for me to come in and compete to be the starter, Dormady told Seifert.

And then I get five practices to show that basically Im not good enough to be on their team? It just seemed fishy.

Ive been very open about trying to help lead the negotiations here to get us to where we can get to a place to finish this and come to a resolution.

But when were at a standstill because the league refuses to even meet us a third of the way, then theres no good faith here.

So I think that this was a deal where its like, lets chop a head off and make this another way that they can threaten people.

Although hes officially gone from the UFL, Darmody isnt going away quietly.

They keep messing with the wrong guy, Dormady told Seifert.

Im not backing down, man.

This goes far beyond playing football at this point.

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What its always been about is, Lets just do whats right.

Were not trying to sink anyone or the league or anything.

We understand what the leagues done for us, but at the same time, they just continue to show who they are, and it aint about the players.

Federal law provides protection against adverse employment action for union activity.

If, as it currently appears, the players wont strike, the players union can increase the heat on the league by pursuing legal relief on Darmodys behalf.

The UFL denies Darmodys allegations.

Our teams engage in various player transactions during training camp, including free agent signings, moving players to injured reserve, waivers and terminations, a UFL spokesperson told Seifert.

In fact, through eight days of camp, 24 players have been released.

Any player transactions are purely the result of football decisions at the team level and have nothing to do with collective bargaining negotiations.

Thats exactly what the UFL would say, even if the move was influenced by Darmodys efforts to help the players get more.

And if legal action is pursued, the lawyers representing Darmodys interests would have an opportunity to fully explore any and all evidence (including text messages and emails) that would confirm Darmodys suspicions or debunk the stated reasons for Darmodys firing..

This article has been shared from the original article on nbcsports, here is the link to the original article.