They Fought the Law

As a sports fan, I’m interested in the pure motivation of sport and sport stories – and I’m talking here about the victorious struggle of athletes as they overcome external obstacles and internal limitations.  I love the big games and the big moments, and when athletes rise to their greatest level of performance on their sport’s biggest stage. There is beauty that lies within. 

There is similar beauty that appeals to my sports business sense, and that beauty lies in the well-executed deal, which includes really well articulated legal constructs that give protections and benefits to all sides in a contract.  The public often doesn’t hear that much about these kinds of structures because those conflicts don’t become news unless one party or another oversteps their bounds without relief. 

            On the flip side, there are all kinds of legal issues that do make it into the public consciousness, whether those are criminal issues, or issues of fraud or breach of contract, or other tortuous issues.  Those issues underscore how freakishly large the business of sports has become, and in one recent instance it shows how an individual case can shake an organization down to its core – even it that organization is the biggest, and seemingly most bulletproof organization in sports.

            Over this past summer, an NFL investigation uncovered that the New Orleans Saints conducted a bounty system in which the team gave financial rewards to roughly two dozen players for hard hits and hits that caused injuries to opposing players.  That investigation led to unparalleled suspensions for coaches and players who organized and carried out these bounties over the course of three years. (Holder, 2012).  Goodell’s justification for the suspensions is that he would be putting the league at risk if he didn’t punish a team for running a bounty program, particularly at a time when the league is facing a barrage of lawsuits from former players regarding concussion injuries.

            That’s just the opening hint of how numerous the legal issues could be, and we could break down a lot of those legal aspects on an individual basis.  But the overriding issue is that of the fairness of the NFL’s judicial process, and whether or not NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has overstepped his bounds, even if he believes he is acting in the best interest of both the league and all of the players. 

            According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the league, the players have given permission for Goodell to act as investigator, judge and jury in these kinds of cases.  That means that the players do have rights to appeal findings in cases like these, but the appeal is to Goodell himself. 

(In actuality, the way this played out was that the players were first suspended in May.  An arbitration panel then overturned the suspensions, but allowed Goodell to reinstate them if he could prove that the Saints had created a culture where there was an intent to injure.  This past week, Goodell did just that, though he reduced the length of two of the suspensions.  The players have now appealed the suspensions, which allows them to play, or at least to get paid, while they await a final verdict).

Though they agreed to the process, the NFLPA continues to gripe that the content and context of the evidence is insufficient, which it may very well be for a court of law.  But it is worth pointing out that this is not a court of law, but rather a court of the Commissioner.  (Brandt, 2012)

Here is where it gets really interesting – the player facing the longest and most harsh suspension, Jonathan Vilma, has asked Commissioner Goodell to recuse himself of the NFL’s appeal process.  It’s a fascinating gambit with no real legal basis other than in the court of public opinion.  In the meantime, all four players have sued the league in federal court.  (Brandt, 2009). U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan has said that she believes that the NFL’s judiciary structure does not allow due process, though she adds that she wants the sides to work through that structure before she hears the case in its entirety. (N.D., 2012).

So now that the players have appealed, the NFL has said it will respond within ten days.  If those appeals are denied, as is expected, the process will continue in the courtroom.  At that point, not too many good things can happen, but the most likely is that the process continues with no resolution all the way to the league’s biggest showpiece, the Super Bowl, which won’t be pretty for the league.

That’s especially true this year, because the Super Bowl is in New Orleans.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

1. Brandt, A. (2012, October 9). Is bounty scandal far from finished?. Retrieved from ESPN.com

2. Chadiha, J. (2012, October 5). Saints were snared by their own words. Retrieved from ESPN.com

3. Cherry, G. (2012, October 12). NFL-bounty scandal players appeal latest suspensions. Retrieved from Chicagotribune.com

4. Holder, L. (2012, October 12). 4 suspended players connected to Saints bounty scandal to file appeals, source says. Retrieved from NOLA.com

5. N.D., Appeal seeks roger goodell recusal. (2012, October 12). Retrieved from ESPN.com

6. Yaskinsas, P. (2012, October 9. Saints players should take punishment, move on. Retrieved from ESPN.com