Judge Overturns NFL Arbitrator’s Denial of Peterson’s Appeal

U.S. District Judge David Doty found that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had no authority to retroactively apply the NFL’s new policy and that NFL arbitrator Henderson “simply disregarded the law of the shop and in doing so failed to meet his duty under the [Collective Bargaining Agreement signed on August 4, 2011].” The judge remanded the case to follow further proceedings under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.

Peterson had been suspended until at least by April 15 pursuant to the new personal conduct …

February 23, 2015 Concussions / NFL

NFL Concussion Suit: Further Changes to Settlement Agreement

Both the plaintiffs and the NFL amended the tentative settlement plan in the NFL concussion suit again in response to U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody.

Early in February, Judge Brody issued an order that contained recommendations to “enhance the fairness, reasonableness and adequacy” of the proposed settlement agreement. The parties had until Friday to address her five concerns.

First, Judge Brody urged to expand the provision that only counted NFL playing seasons in calculating eligibility of players. The revised agreement credits a half-season for …

February 4, 2015 Concussions / NFL

Judge Says NFL Concussion Settlement Needs Changes

On Monday, February 2, Judge Anita Brody of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the proposed class action settlement agreement reached between the NFL and thousands of former NFL players suing the league for concussion related injuries.

The lawsuit alleges that the NFL intentionally downplayed the risks of concussion-related injuries & their long-term effects on cognitive decline. In august of 2013, the NFL and over 4,500 players reached a settlement amounting to $765 million. The settlement has been a point of contention over the last …

December 18, 2014 NFL

Bad Press For The NFL Leads to Enhanced Personal Conduct Policy

In the wake of countless controversies of the NFL regarding sexual assaults and domestic violence, the NFL has officially announced that it has a revised and strengthened Personal Conduct Policy for all NFL employees. Over the past several months, domestic violence has been a prevailing problem in the NFL with two of the most notorious instances revolving around Ray Rice, former running back and Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens, and Adrian Peterson, suspended running back for the Minnesota Vikings.

Rice, originally known for …

December 7, 2014 NFL

Adrian Peterson’s Appeal Hearing in Progress: No Settlement Offers on the Table

An appeal hearing to review Adrian Peterson’s indefinite suspension is underway in New York. While ordering Troy Vincent, NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, to testify on December 4, Arbiter Harold Henderson also urged the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) to settle the issue regarding Peterson. According to ESPN, there has been no offers on the table yet.

Vincent was ordered to testify after the NFLPA submitted a recording of a phone conversation between him and Peterson where Vincent offered Peterson that …

December 6, 2014 Concussions / NFL

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 …

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 …

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 …