LenDale's uncle, Herman White, told The Tennessean that LenDale missed his flight because he was with his grandmother:
"It's not like he is fabricating things,'' Herman White said. "If I didn't know he was at his grandmom's bedside I might be questioning what he's doing, too. But I am not going to tell him, 'Don't be concerned about my mom.' She is very important to him."
There are some things that more important that football, especially OTAs. Family is one of those things. I would be ok with LenDale missing a practice or a game if his grandmother was dying or needed him there with her. It just has to be done the correct way. If he would have called Fisher the day before and explained the situation, I am sure it would have been no big deal at all. He didn't bother to communicate it to him until the day of, which is why there is a problem.
The other side of this is the fact that these are "voluntary" workouts which is what PFT talked about in the link that Zack provided (scroll down to "Does the NFLPA Even Exist Anymore?"). They do make a valid point. Zack and I had discussed this yesterday. I don't think there is any way for the NFLPA to stop these involuntary voluntary OTAs. Fisher can say whatever he wants. As long as he stops short of punishing LenDale there is really nothing the NFLPA can do.