Ex-NFL Player DeMeco Ryans Fights Arbitration in Lawsuit Versus Texans

Former Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans has asked the Texas Supreme Court to let his lawsuit against the Texans continue, instead of going to arbitration.

As we reported earlier,  Ryans sued the Houston Texans back in 2016, alleging that they were responsible for an Achilles tendon injury he suffered in 2014. Specifically, Ryans claimed that the field of NRG Stadium was maintained in a poor condition, as the playing field consists of square patches of actual grass interwoven with seams of artificial …

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Former Football Players Fight Back, Tell Ninth Circuit That NFL Was Directly Involved in Painkiller Lawsuit

In a lawsuit where former NFL players accused the league of doping them with amphetamines and painkillers, the players have responded to the NFL’s effort to end their appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

As we reported earlier, former Chicago Bears players Richard Dent and Jim McMahon sued the NFL in 2014, claiming that the league facilitated the use of opioids, anesthetics, and drugs like Toradol without prescriptions, violating the Controlled Substances Act . While their lawsuit was initially dismissed by a district court for being …

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NFL Tells Ninth Circuit to End Painkiller Class Action Lawsuit

The NFL argued to the Ninth Circuit that the lawsuit from former players should be dismissed, as it was individual teams, not the league, that supplied the players with amphetamines and painkillers.

In 2014, former Chicago Bears players Richard Dent and Jim McMahon sued the NFL, claiming that teams frequently use opioids, anesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs like Toradol. They alleged that such drug use often does not require prescriptions and that the teams do not take into account medical history, substance abuse treatment or potentially …

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A Widow’s Fight Against the NHL Faces Procedural Hurdle

Often, when lawsuits involve sports-related brain and head injuries (CTE), it’s easy to assume that the NFL is involved. However, concussion-related lawsuits are not solely confined to professional football.

In 2018, the NHL was engulfed in concussion litigation. Kelli Ewen, the widow of former NHL player, Todd Ewen, filed a lawsuit against the NHL in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In her complaint, Ewen alleges that the NHL promotes a culture of “violence and concealment of long-term brain injuries associated …

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The Collective Bargaining Agreement: The Financial and Logistical Guide to the Modern NBA

National Basketball Association (NBA) fans have been glued to their phones lately wondering which players will sign where. The start of the NBA free agency period has become somewhat of a sports holiday when players announce their new (or same) destinations. Teams often resort to buying billboards, hiring celebrities, and even offering players free food for life to convince these free agents to sign with them. The contract and monetary amounts for players can be staggering. Players are accumulating generational wealth and are constantly …

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NHL and NHLPA Instill Hope for Peaceful CBA Talks

On Friday, January 25, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman held a press conference surrounding the NHL All-Star Game and implored his desire for peaceful collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. Given the multitude of lockouts over negotiations in the past, his comments have instilled cautious optimism throughout the fandom of the league.

Pursuant to the current CBA in effect, the league and players alike have the option to prematurely terminate the agreement as of September 15, 2020, regardless of the technical end date of 2022. With these …

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Arena Football Lawsuit

On June 19, 2018, the Arena Football League Players Union sued the Arena Football League One, LLC seeking to enforce an arbitration award issued to Richard Ranglin on January 17, 2018. According to Section 20.1 of the leagues Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), “disputes under the CBA arising between the Union and the League are to be resolved exclusively in accordance with the arbitration procedure outlined in the CBA.” Also, pursuant to Section 20.8 of the CBA, “the decision of an arbitrator is final and binding …

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NFL Players Union Argues No Breach of Collective Bargaining Agreement on Player’s 10-Game Drug Suspension

Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle, was hit with a 10-game drug suspension last season for the alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. In response, Johnson filed suit last month against the NFL Players Association, arguing that the Union’s inactions caused his suspension. Specifically, Johnson sued the NFL and the Players Union for allegedly failing to follow the collective bargaining agreement and the collectively bargained NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances in punishing him with a 10-game suspension.

After raising jurisdictional issues and determining that …

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Down to the Wire: MLB Reaches Tentative Labor Agreement

In the final hours before the prior collective bargaining agreement’s expiration, Major League Baseball and its players’ union reached a tentative labor agreement. The agreement just narrowly avoided a potential work stoppage and marks 26 years of labor cooperation in the league. The new agreement should extend that peace another give years, until 2021.

The agreement hinged upon a raised threshold of the specified payroll limit. This “luxury tax” was a penalty on teams that went over the threshold. According to players the cap was …

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NFL Required to Hand Over More Than $100M to its Players Association

In a ruling handed down last week by arbitrator Stephen Burbank, the NFL has been hit hard with a decision aimed directly at its pockets. The NFL Players Association recently announced that the league must fork over $120 million to the revenue pool the league and its players’ union share. The arbitrator found that the NFL had “mischaracterized” nearly $50 million of revenue a year that otherwise would have been paid to the players. The order comes after the Players Association discovered the issue in …

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