NFLPA to File Collusion Grievance

Reports are surfacing that the NFLPA is on the brink of filing a collusion grievance. Acording to the reports, the NFLPA began working on a collusion case after only one of 216 restrcited free agents were signed to an offer sheet. In the NFL, restricted free agents are allowed to seek offer sheets from other teams, and once one is signed, the player's former team has the option to match the offer and retain the player, or let the player go according to the terms of the offer sheet.

Collusion is where players or clubs act in concert in order to defraud or decieve another party. Here, the NLFPA would argue that the NFL clubs are colluding and agreeing to refuse to provide offer sheets to restricted free agents, in an effort to reduce player salaries. Collusion is usually difficult to prove absent obvious evidence, and could take several years before there is a decision regarding the grievance.

NFL Personal Conduct Policy

I know Ryan will complain that this entry is too long, but deal with it (you know who you are):

With all the discussions about whether Brett Favre will be fined or suspended under the personal conduct policy of the NFL for the alleged pictures, texts, and voicemails he sent, I have received several questions about what exactly is the personal conduct policy and who does it cover. The Personal Conduct Policy as adopted by the NFL is somewhat long and detailed, so I will provide a quick version:

The purpose of the policy is to punish those who engage in violent or criminal behavior detrimental to the integrity of the league. Not only are players under contract covered by the policy, but so are NFL and team employees, drafted but unsigned rookies, and unsigned free agents. Any player charged or accused of such behavior will be required to have a consultation with the commissioner. Any person convicted of a crime or that pleads guilty or nolo contendere is subject to discipline under the policy, which can include a fine, suspension, or banishment from the league. There is also a section in the policy that applies to criminal or threatening activity in the workplace, and violators may be subject to mandatory counseling or even be terminated. The one comical aspect of the policy is that any appeals must go through the commissioner, who would have to overrule himself to reduce a punishment. This seems a little one-sided with no checks and balances, so look for the player’s union to address this issue in the near future.

So the question becomes, how is the alleged Brett Favre incident covered under the policy? Sending inappropriate texts and pictures, while maybe immoral or unethical, is not criminal or violent behavior, so how can Favre be punished? The answer is very simple. Since the commissioner created the policy and is responsible for enforcing it, he can simply apply the policy to whatever he sees fit. This is a very embarrassing incident for the NFL, and you better believe Commissioner Goodell will punish Favre if he believes he has enough evidence that the alleged incidents occurred as reported. Now, if you are thinking “How is the player’s union accepting the commissioner having all of this unilateral power,” they are not, and this will likely be one of the heavily debated topics once the collective bargaining discussions begin.

O.J. Staying in Jail

O.J. Simpson's appeal stemming from his conviction of robbery and kidnapping was denied by the Nevada Supreme Court today. Simpson'a attorneys argued that the racial makeup of the jury and the conduct of the judge were key issues in the case, and the conviction was prejudicial payback for his acquittal involving the 1994 slayings of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson will continue to serve his 9-33 year sentence in Nevada State Prison. Meanwhile, the conviction of Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, was reversed, and he will face a new trial.

BCS Going to Court?

In an interview with the ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City, the Utah Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff says there is an 80% chance the state of Utah will file a lawsuit against the BCS. Shurtleff claims the lawsuit has already been written, and he will visit with a top anti-trust offical with the Department of Justice when he is Washington D.C. in just a few days. Shurtleff claims the BCS is an illegal monopoly and contains illegal price fixing, and will try to get the Department of Justice to join him in the suit, although, he states he is willing to pursue this action alone.

Several MLB Players to Testify Against Bonds

Today, federal prosecutors submitted a list of witnesses that intend to testify in the trial against Barry Bonds, and several MLB and former MLB players were on the list. Bonds case has been delayed several times now as the prosecutors have had trouble obtaining admissible evidence. Prosecutors were attempting to appeal a judge's ruling barring evidence of a urine test demonstrating steroid use. The slugger's trial is currently scheduled for March 21 in San Francisco.

Among the prople scheduled to testify against Bonds are current Rockies first baseman and admitted steroids user Jason Giambi, and former MLB players Armando Rios, Benito Santiago, and Giambi's brother Jeremy, among other. Bonds former girlfriend, Kimberly Bell, will also be called to tesify against him, in addition to Bond's former personal trainer.

Bond's team intends to call a former San Francisco Giants trainer, who is now MLB's Director of Umpire Medical Services, as well as an independent steroid expert on his behalf.

It seems as though the prosecution is trying to do all it can to convict Bonds, but unfortunately for them, witness testimony is about all the evidence they have left. While experts say it is unlikely Bonds will be convicted, many believe prosecutors are still going to go through with the entire trial in an effort to prepare for the upcoming Roger Clemens case. It seems the federal government has a much stronger case against Clemens at this point, given that much of the evidence against Bonds has been deemed inadmissible.

UPDATE: Roger Clemens is Arraigned

Roger Clemens was arraigned today, and pleaded “Not Guilty” to the 6 charges he is facing, as expected. The next stage in the trial is jury selection, which was set to begin April 5, 2011, just about when the Bonds perjury trial should be concluding. Neither Clemens nor his lawyer said much yesterday, either in court or to reporters

Roger Clemens Indicted

Roger Clemens was indicted today on six counts of lying to Congress relating back to the testimony he gave to the House Committee in 2008. Among those six counts are two counts for perjury, three for making false statements, and one for obstruction of justice. This is another sad step in the life of what might be one of the top three pitchers of all time. There is some confusion over whether Clemens was forced to testify before Congress in 2008, or whether it was done voluntarily. Former Congressman Tom Davis states that Clemens willingly testified, even as he was warned against doing so by several committee members. Meanwhile, Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin claims Clemens was pressured into testifying before Congress, and really had no choice but to do so.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Because the government screwed up the Barry Bonds perjury case, you can bet that they will do everything in their power to make sure Clemens is convicted, to set an example for future hearings before Congress. If convicted, it is quite possible that Clemens can spend time in jail, although it is unlikely to be a lengthy sentence. There are also reports that Clemens was offered a plea deal by the government, where in exchange for pleading guilty, he would avoid any jail time. However, Clemens adamantly denies ever taking steroids or HGH, and refused to plead guilty.

It seems this Clemens stubbornness is what prevented from taking the deal, as well as it is what put him in this position. Whether he was pressured to testify or did so voluntarily, he was not subpoenaed, and had every right to refuse. However, it was likely his stubbornness that made him believe he could stand before Congress, deny taking any performance-enhancing drugs, attempt to clear his name, and the law couldn’t touch him. Don’t get me wrong, it is not certain that he took steroids or HGH, but with the amount of witnesses coming out against him, including former friend Andy Pettitte, and the uncharacteristic statistics he put up at a time in his life when a person’s statistics generally fall significantly, there is a lot of evidence against him.

The Texas Rangers Saga Continues

The issue that has come up now, is when will the auction be held to determine the purchaser of the Texas Rangers. There was originally a hearing scheduled for August 4, where the bankruptcy court would hear bids from potential buyers. However, creditors and a court-appointed restructuring officer want the hearing delayed in order for other potential bidders to have time to obtain financing. On Wednesday, Nolan Ryan, current team president and the head of one of the groups looking to purchase the Rangers, asked the judge to go ahead with the auction as planned on August 4th. Ryan claimed he was asking this as team president, because postponing the auction could prevent the Rangers from keeping Josh Hamilton, as he is eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, and he must be too expensive for a team in bankruptcy to afford. However, there is a little conflict of interest here, as more time would mean more buyers for Ryan to compete with.

In a related note, Mark Cuban was given the go ahead to submit a bid to purchase the Rangers. However, don’t read into this too much. As you remember, Cuban also submitted a bid to purchase the Chicago Cubs a few years ago, and then was essentially blackballed by MLB. As sources state, Cuban had submitted the highest bid for the Cubs franchise, however, a potential MLB owner must be approved by the other owners, and few were willing to approve Cuban due to his brash style and previous happenings as owner of the Dallas Mavericks. So it will be interesting to see how this progresses…

More Conflict Between The Dodgers Owners

The long struggle between Frank McCourt and his estranged wife Jamie McCourt over control of the Dodgers took another twist yesterday. This twist revolved around a postnuptial marital property agreement that put the couple’s homes in Jamie’s name. Frank maintains that the agreement, which was signed by both parties, gave him control of the Dodgers, while Jamie denies ever signing away control of the Dodgers.

The disagreement exists because there are actually six copies of the documents, where three of them were signed at a different time than the other three. Jamie’s lawyers have argued that the three copies she has do not include the “Schedule A,” which lists the assets of Frank McCourt, including the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, forensic scientists have recently examined the three copies that do contain “Schedule A,’ and concluded that the document had not been tampered with, which could be a huge blow to Jamie and her lawyers.

Frank’s attorneys argue that since the forensic scientists concluded that the original staple was still in the three copies that contained “Schedule A,” along with Jamie’s original signature, there is no doubt that Jamie had been lying all along. Meanwhile, Jamie’s lawyers are arguing that the attorney that drew up the contract may be gone over a different copy with Jamie, than the one signed by Frank McCourt.

Even if this is a victory for Frank, the judge still could rule to throw out the marital property agreement if he deems it to be unfair, with the next trial date schedule for August 30.

The Texas Rangers Are In Court Again

I wrote an earlier post that discussed the pending sale and bankruptcy of the Texas Rangers franchise. Well, it has just gotten a little more complicated. According to ESPN.com, the court-appointed restructuring officer reopened the sale of the team to potential purchasers, and even began accepting bids again, even though current team president and prospective purchaser Nolan Ryan states that his group already had their bid accepted by the team, and now have the exclusive rights to purchase the team. This recent development caused Ryan and his group to file suit against the Texas Rangers in bankruptcy court, requesting that the judge put a stop to the current bidding process.

It seems unlikely that any other groups would eventually take the place of Ryan’s group and purchase the team, as MLB is heavily in favor of bringing back one of the all time Texas greats to own a franchise in his home state. And after watching the Chicago Cubs sale over the last 2 years, we know how important it is to have MLB supporting your bid to purchase a team. In addition, it looks like Ryan’s group has position themselves well by having massive funding for the purchase as well as savvy businessmen and attorneys included in their group.

Stay tuned as I am sure there will be future developments in this case in the upcoming weeks…

The Salary Arbitration Process

Thank you to Mike F. for submitting the following question: I am a huge baseball fan and understand the basics of salary arbitration, but how exactly does the actual arbitration process work?

You hear it every year after the season winds down. It is a list of players that are arbitration eligible during that off-season. However, very few people know what that means, or what process will be followed to determine the player’s salary for the following season. In order to be eligible for arbitration, a player generally must have between three and six years of Major League Baseball experience, with a few other exceptions which would otherwise qualify them. Once the player has qualified for arbitration, he must notify the MLB Player’s Association that he is electing to proceed with arbitration. The Association will then notify the league, who will then notify the individual club of the impending proceedings. Once all parties are notified, each side, the player and the team, will have three days to submit their arbitration figure for what they believe the player should earn the following season. This is where it gets tricky. While the figures are “locked in” once they are submitted and cannot be changed, the team and the player can continue to attempt to negotiate a contract in order to avoid arbitration altogether, which occurs the majority of the time for several reasons discussed below. If the sides do not reach an agreement before the hearing, an arbitration panel of three people will be selected by the MLB Labor Relations Department.

Once the hearing begins, each side will have one hour to present their case on why they believe the player should earn the amount that that particular side submitted. The MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement actually lists the information that can be submitted to the panel in support of each side, such as “the player’s contribution to their team during the past season, the length and consistency of the player’s career contribution, the existence of an physical or mental defects on the part of the player, and the recent performance of the club as an indication for the public’s acceptance.” The Collective Bargaining Agreement also list what data in inadmissible, such as “the financial position of the player or the team, previous offers made by the team or the player, or salaries in other sports or occupations.” After both sides have given their initial presentations, each side will then have one half-hour for rebuttal and summation, and the panel will then select which of the two submitted figures they believe the player most deserves based on the information presented.

Because the panel is only allowed to pick one of the two salaries submitted, it is very important that each side strategically selects an appropriate figure. This is also the major reason that the player and the club usually end up agreeing on a contract before the hearing, as it is a way to hedge yourself against having to leave yourself in the hands of the panel. Teams and players also would rather come to a compromise that is satisfactory to both sides, instead of the team having to point out the defects in a player’s game or person in order to prove why the player is not worth what he believe he is, which could cause tension down the road.

Hope this helps Mike!

BREAKING NEWS...Lawrence Taylor Indicted

Lawrence Taylor has been indicted on charges of rape, endangering the welfare of a child, and patronizing a prostitute resulting from an incident that occurred at a Holiday Inn in suburban New York last month.

Rangers Must Change Plan to Complete Sale

As reported before, the Texas Rangers filed for bankruptcy about 6 weeks ago after owner Tom Hicks defaulted on over $525 million in loans. Hicks has been opposing the sale of the team to a group led by Reangers' president Nolan Ryan, although everyone else, including MLB, seems to support it. Well now it seems the Texas Rangers will have to change its bankruptcy plan. A bankruptcy judge has ruled that both creditors and the team would be adversely affected by the Rangers' previous plan to pay creditors $75 million. It was not necessarily the amount that the judge rejected, but rather, that he felt some of the creditor's rights were being taken away under that plan. The judge also ruled that unsecured creditors were not adversely affected by the plan because they were scheduled to get the amount in default plus interest. Interestingly, the Rangers largest unsecured creditor is Alex Rodriguez, whom the Rangers still owe almost $25 million in deferred compensation for the contract he signed in Texas ten years ago. The judge has scheduled another hearing on July 9 when a final decision is expected to be announced so stay tuned for that...

American Needle Clobbers the NFL

As updated earlier, the US Supreme Court today ruled 9-0 in favor of American Needle in its case against the National Football League. The case originated some ten years ago, when American Needle negotiated the merchandising rights with an NFL team. The National Football League then negotiated and signed a merchandising apparel agreement with Reebok, that gave Reebok the exclusive right to manufacture and sell the merchandising apparel for all 32 teams. American Needle then filed suit in Chicago, arguing that the NFL violated the Antitrust Laws as it applied to the teams within the league. Antitrust laws were enacted to prevent entities from working together in an effort to limit competition or place restraints on trade. American Needle argued that the teams within the NFL were actually individual entities, acting together within the structure of the NFL, and therefore, and efforts by the league to place restrictions or act on behalf of all the teams violated the antitrust laws because the teams were then colluding to limit competition. The NFL argued that the National Football League was one single entity, with 32 members, and as a result, the league could negotiate on behalf on all of the teams without violating these antitrust laws. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of American Needle, and decided that the NFL is actually comprised on 32 different entities. What was strange about this case was not only the 9-0 vote by the US Supreme Court, which rarely happens due to the different views and opinions by the Justices, but also that the NFL had previously scored two victories in this case in the courts before the Supreme Court.

A lot has been made about how this ruling not only applies to the National Football League, but to other sports as well. Had this ruling been in favor of the NFL, fans could have seen the effects of it in their wallets. Not only could the NFL have fixed merchandising costs, which would be much higher without there being competition to drive costs down, it could have gone much further, such as the NFL fixing ticket prices to help increase revenue. Other major sports were keeping their eye on this case as well, for the reasons just laid out. It would have given the other leagues much more authority and opportunity to act on behalf of all the teams within the league, and ultimately do what was best for the league, and not necessarily what was best for the players or fans.

Click here and here for an ESPN.com and SI.com column on what this ruling means to the NFL, as well as players, unions, and fans.

American Needle v. NFL

Breaking News...The Surpreme Court has reversed the decision of the Seventh Circuit Court, and ruled in favor in American Needle in its case aginst the National Football League, in a 9-0 decision. Click here to view the opinion. More to follow...

The Future of Sports Agency In The Hands Of The Courts

The future landscape of athlete representation could rest on the outcome of two lawsuits filed in Ohio and California. Matthew Baldwin, a little known sports agent, has filed suit against IMG, his former employer, requesting that the court free him from the restrictions stated in his contract with IMG, which prevent him from bringing his clients with him to his new position with CAA. IMG has countersued in Ohio, asking the court to enforce the contract. These restrictions are very common in agents’ contracts, but courts aren’t always willing to enforce a contract that prevents someone from “earning their living.” While this in itself isn’t a big case, it could have huge ramifications down the road. As stated in the Sports Business Journal (Published May 17, 2010),

“Even though Baldwin, who worked for Gary O’Hagan, the head of IMG Coaches, isn’t a big name, the industry is buzzing about the case because it pits IMG, the firm widely credited with inventing the sports business, against CAA, which was built chiefly on the hires of former IMG executives.”

Not only is this an important case because it pits two heavyweights agencies against each other, but many of the top agents in the country have deals set to expire in the next couple of years with their current employers, and the outcome of this case could go a long way in determining whether these established agents could sign a huge multi-year contract with another firm and bring their clients with them. Clients are typically more loyal to their agent than they are to the company who employs the agent, so when an agent changes companies, he/she generally brings the vast majority of their clients with them, immediately boosting the revenue of the new firm. It will be interesting to keep an eye on these lawsuits as well as how they will affect the future of the agency business. Stay tuned…..

NFL Appeals Williams’ Cases to US Supreme Court

It has now been almost two years since the William’s Wall have tested positive for a banned substance, and after several hearings in a few different courts, the NFL is now appealing the case to the US Supreme Court. As most of you will remember, Minnesota Viking’s defensive linemen Kevin and Pat Williams tested positive for bumetanide, an ingredient in the weight loss supplement StarCaps, that also acts as a masking agent for performance-enhancing drugs. The players are arguing that the drug testing policy agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement of the NFL violates the state law of Minnesota. The NFL, in turn, is arguing that this is a federal case, and the collective bargaining agreement should overrule any conflicting state law, otherwise there will be different rules that apply to different teams depending on in what state they are located.

The case originally was filed in the 8th Circuit Court, where a federal judge then sent the case to state court. The state court ruled last week that the NFL failed to abide by state law in their failure to notify the two players of their positive drug test. However, the judge did rule that this violation was not severe enough to prevent the NFL from suspending the two players. The NFL is appealing the case to the US Supreme Court in an effort to get the decision of the 8th Circuit Court overturned, and have the federal courts hear the case.

Based on the recent developments, it looks as though there is a growing chance that the suspension of the Williams’ will stand. However, the NFL is concerned with more than that. Roger Goodell and the NFL want precedent to be set, because they do not like their authority to be challenged. If there is one thing we have learned since Goodell has taken over, it is that he likes having the authority and ability to make decisions without having them questioned. Look at the personal conduct policy. Goodell has the exclusive power to determine if the policy was violated and what the consequences should be. If a player does not agree with the punishment under the policy, he can appeal he penalty…wait for it…back to Commissioner Goodell. That’s right, you have to plead your case to the very person that handed out the penalty and explain why you think he was wrong. The NFL would also like to establish precedent so other players would not view these proceedings as an opportunity to challenge any future positive tests. So stay tuned to this story to see if the US Supreme Court will even hear the case, and if so, whether a state law can supercede the collective bargaining agreement of a private entity that operates across state lines.

Delaware Sports Betting Hits Another Roadblock

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court all but eliminated the possibility of Delaware beginning to accept individual bets on professional sporting games. The argument was based on whether having the state allow betting violated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Under that law, no betting on professional or amateur sports games was permitted, with special exemptions granted to Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon because, at the time the law was passed, they all previously operating some form of sports betting. However, Delaware only offered parlay bets, and only offered them on NFL games. A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more wagers, where winning the parlay bet is dependent on winning all of the individual wagers. The professional leagues and the NCAA argued that offering any other bets other than parlay bets on NFL games would violate the 1992 statute. The attorneys for the state of Delaware argued that allowing additional betting would help offset some of the state’s record deficit, and operating a sports lottery would not violate the law. The U.S. Supreme Court did not hear the case, instead allowing the ruling from the appeals court to stand, which stated that the state could only continue to offer parlay bets and they only can be offered on NFL games.

It looks as though this could finally be the end for what Delaware envisioned would be a boost in revenue. The state expected at least $17 million in revenue from offering sports betting if they were allowed to do so, which is a small amount when compared to the $350 million deficit the state is currently facing. It also would pale in comparison to the $2.5 billion that was wagered in Nevada sports books last year, which even though that seems like an enormous number, represented less than 1% of the total amount wagered, legally and illegally, throughout the country last year!!

Lawrence Taylor Takes Another Hit

Lawrence Taylor has now officially been arrested and charged with third degree rape and patronizing of a prostitute for his alleged activity with a 16 year old girl at a New York Holiday Inn. This is not the first run-in with the law LT has experienced. He has been arrested and charged numberous times over the past 15 years for various things such as attempting to purchase "crack" from under cover police officers, drug possession, and traffic violations, among others. In New York, third degree rape (or statutory rape as many people know it) is when an adult engages in sexual activity with a person under the age of 17. Third degree rape is a strict liability crime, meaning there does not have to be intent to commit a crime by LT, and fault is irrleveant. It is not a defense if LT thought she was 17 or even if the alleged victim consented. If convicted, these charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 5 years. Because third degree rape is a Class E felony in New York, if LT is willing to negotiate, he could likely agree to a reduced charge and get off with little or no prison time. This is just another sad chapter in the life of what may be the best defensive player of all-time in the NFL. For those of you who didn't get a chance to appreciate him, he had an unparalleled combination of speed and strength that dominated opposing offenses (as well as opponents in Tecmo Bowl on the original Nintendo). On a positive note, at least there were no drugs found at his hotel room when he was arrested.