Ex-Chicago Bear Arrested in Miami

Garrett Wolfe was arrested on Saturday im Miami on counts of retail theft, assaulting a police officer, resisting an arrest with violence, and disorderly conduct. It apparently stemmed from a $1,600 tab he racked up at a Miami nightclub and then refused to pay. Officers were then called to the scene, and when Wolfe was given an opportunity to pay again, he not only refused, but became violent and charged the officers.

It will be interesting to see how this event will be handled by the league. Wolfe was not offered a contract by the Bears so once the lockout is over, he will be an unrestricted free agent. However, the league could have some sort of punishment waiting for Wolfe once he does return. Because of the lockout and because he is not technically an employee of a team, he cannot be punished until he signs a contract. However, this will likely be viewed as a violation of the personal conduct policy of the NFL, assuming that policy is not amended as part of a new collective bargaining agreement. Even though this is a relatively minor incident, it could serve as a crucial indicator of how new issues will be handled once football resumes, as one of the players sticking points in negotiations is their feeling that the commissioner has too much unilateral power under the current personal conduct policy.

NFL Earns Victory Over NFLPA

In what could be a preclude to a tough and intense negotiating process to develop a new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NFL owners earned a victory by allowing the players' salary to be held in an escrow account should there be a lockout, instead of the players receiving their paychecks. This is a huge blow for many of the lower earning players who rely on these checks to make ends meet and don't have multi-million dollar signing bonuses to fall back on. This could potentially create some division among the players, but NFLPA DeMaurice Smith attemtped to downplay the victory, and expects no negative emotions to result from this decision. Roger Goodell and Smith continue to try to pound out a new agreement, however, it is looking more and more likely that some sort of work stoppage will result.

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 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.