NFL Concussion Suit: Lead Plaintiffs Inadequately Represent Interest of Class Members

Public Citizen Inc., a public interest advocacy group, filed an amicus brief arguing that the two leading plaintiffs Kevin Turner and Shawn Wooden insufficiently represent the interest of the more than 22,000 putative class members in the NFL concussion lawsuit.

The group said in the brief, “[The federal rule governing class certification] does not allow class counsel, representing only two of several necessary subclasses, to make decisions that they and defendants accurately describe as a compromise among the disparate interests of 20,000 class members with …

December 5, 2014 Legislation / MLB / NBA / NFL / NHL

Bill Ending Antitrust Exemptions for Pro Sports Leagues Introduced

A bill to end the current permanent antitrust exemptions of the four major professional sports leagues was introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. on December 2.

Titled the Sustained Promotion of Responsibility in Team Sports Act (SPORTS), the bill would remove permanent antitrust exemptions for NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA one year from the bill’s enactment and replace it with a reauthorization process every five years. According to the SPORTS Act, ninety-five days before ending the exemption, Congress would have an up-down vote on a …

December 1, 2014 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / NFL

Redskins Suit Against Native Americans over Trademarks Goes Forward

A federal judge in Virginia decided to hear the Redskins’ suit against a group of Native Americans over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to cancel the Redskins trademark registrations.

In a suit brought by a Native American before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) decided in June to cancel the Redskins six trademark registrations because the name was “disparaging to Native Americans.” The team filed a federal lawsuit to overturn that decision.

Following the Redskins …

November 27, 2014 Concussions / Litigation / NFL

Fairness Hearing on NFL Concussion Settlement Concluded

On November 19, the opponents of the NFL concussion settlement had their last chance to object the deal before a U.S. District Judge Anita Brody.

The main argument for the opponents was that the cash award was limited to players who died with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”) during a relatively small window of years. Under the current plan, only players who were diagnosed with CTE before July 2014 would be eligible for up to $4 million. Additionally, the diagnostic tests to determine eligibility for some …

November 25, 2014 Concussions / NFL

Kevin Turner Releases Statement Before Fairness Hearing Tomorrow, Nov 19

Just before the fairness hearing before the U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody in Pennsylvania about the NFL Concussion Settlement, Kevin Turner, a former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles, released a statement urging the retired player plaintiffs and families to agree to the settlement offer.

Stressing that “what matters now is time,” Turner expressed that he was “personally comforted by the knowledge that the compensation program is uncapped and guaranteed to be there for all retired players, especially for those who do not know …

November 18, 2014 Litigation / NFL

DEA’s Surprise NFL Inspections for Painkiller Misuse

On Sunday, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections of various NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawk, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The inspections were sparked by allegations asserted in a class-action lawsuit filed in May 2014 by several of the high-profile named players like Richard Dent, Keith Van Horne, and Jim McMahon.

The lawsuit alleged that team doctors and trainers routinely distributed addictive narcotics such as Percocet and Percodan and sleeping pills such as Ambien to players in …

November 6, 2014 NFL / TV

FCC Asked to Block Renewal of TV Licenses for Use of Word “Redskins”

The broadcast licenses of two Los Angeles TV stations have been challenged for their use of the name “Redskins” on air.

Four Native Americans filed petitions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking it to deny license renewals for Fox-owned KTTV and NBC-owned KNBC-TV. Three petitions were filed against KTTV, a station which broadcasts Redskins football games, on October 31. The KNBC petition was filed on November 3, just in time for the deadline on such petitions. All four were filed with the assistance of …

October 28, 2014 NFL

Darren Sharper Loses Workers’ Compensation Claim Bid Against the New Orleans Saints

Although likely paling in comparison to his recent criminal investigation concerns, former NFL safety Darren Sharper’s legal woes continued as he had a workers’ compensation claim partially-dismissed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal of Louisiana.

Sharper, a former player for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings prior to retiring after a stint with New Orleans Saints in 2011, sustained a left knee injury during a November 8, 2009 football game that was subsequently aggravated in December 2009. Sharper missed the last game of …

October 15, 2014 Concussions / NFL

Dave Duerson’s Family Objects NFL Settlement Proposal

The family of Dave Duerson, the former Chicago Bears defensive back, filed an objection of the NFL settlement offer that was preliminarily approved in July 2014. The families of David Duerson and Forrest Blue with 8 other former players named in the objection stated that the NFL concussion settlement “disenfranchises the families who will inevitably suffer the horrific ramifications of CTE” because the proposed plan excludes players who are diagnosed with the disease after July 7, 2014, the date of the court’s preliminary approval. In …

October 14, 2014 NFL / Rights

Judge Dismisses Publicity Rights Lawsuit by Former NFL Players

A federal judge in Minnesota nixed a lawsuit brought by three former NFL players Fred Dryer (LA Rams), Elvin Bethea (Houston Oilers), and Ed White (Minnesota Vikings) who claimed that the NFL violated their publicity rights in using video clips of them playing football. The players had opted out of a $50 million settlement offered in a class action suit over publicity rights of athletes.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson found the NFL Films’ productions that featured game footage of Ram, Oilers, and Vikings were …