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The combine sees top collegiate talent convene
each year in Indianapolis, where National Football League teams
meet with players and evaluate their mental and physical skills.
Widely seen as an essential step toward joining the league, some
players in the past have complained of inappropriate questions
at team interviews.
Others have seen their draft stock rise - or often fall - over
fleeting interactions or brief on-field performances.
"We're now in an era where we know exactly how fast these guys
can run, how much they can lift, how far they can jump, do all
of those things. Why do we insist on them showing up in
Indianapolis?" Smith told reporters in Phoenix, ahead of Super
Bowl 57.
"It's for the teams to be able to engage in intrusive employment
actions that don't exist anywhere else."
The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith, the leading executive for the NFL's labor union, said he
was in support of Pro Days, where team scouts visit college
players on their campuses, and suggested the NFLPA could host
Pro Days for schools that don't already have them.
"It's got to start with players and their agents understanding
that the combine today has nothing to do with how fast you run,
how high you jump and how much you can lift," he said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Phoenix; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
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