A federal judge from the District of Maryland has handed a partial victory to the Washington Redskins and one of its former players, which had moved to dismiss a claim from a football player on another team, who alleged that the Redskins, through one of its coaches, “established and/or tolerated a bounty program wherein its team’s players were given financial rewards for deliberately injuring opposing players.” With that program in place, the plaintiff suffered an injury that prematurely ended his career.
The plaintiff in the case was Barrett Green, a linebacker who played for the New York Giants in 2004. According to the complaint, the Redskins deemed Green a “disruptive presence” on the football field. The incident in question occurred in the third quarter of a December 5, 2004 game between the teams. After the ball was snapped to the Redskins quarterback, Redskins tight end Robert Royal allegedly ran toward Green, lowered his helmet and at full speed dove into Green’s knees. As a result of the hit, Green was immediately disabled and had to be assisted off the field. He was later determined to have torn his anterior cruciate ligament. Green called the play an “unusual, outrageous, and obvious cheap shot.”
Green was allegedly not aware at the time that the Redskins reportedly had a bounty program in place whereby its players would receive financial rewards for deliberately injuring opposing players. In fact, it was not until March 3, 2012, when the Washington Post published an article entitled “NFL to investigate Redskins over bounty allegations under Coach Gregg Williams,” which reported that the team’s defense under Williams may have had a system to reward players with cash for hits that knocked opponents from games, that Green became aware of the program. Also, at about the same time, the NFL announced its findings, after investigation, that when serving as Defensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints team, Williams was determined to have implemented a bounty program of the same type allegedly in effect with the Redskins.
Green ultimately sued on the following counts: Count I for Battery against Royal; Count II for Vicarious Liability against Redskins; Count III for Negligence against Royal; Count IV for Negligence against Redskins, and Count VI for Negligent Supervision against Redskins.
Defendants Argue for Statute of Limitations and Preemption Arguments
In its motion to dismiss, the Redskins argued that the statute of limitations would void some of the claims and that the other claims are preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185(a). In this regard, the team argued that Green’s claims are covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in effect between the National Football League, its owners, and players, and that Green failed to exhaust his remedies as provided in the CBA.
Addressing the statute of limitation argument, the court found that it had run out on the negligence and battery claims, and thus granted the motion to dismiss.
The court reversed field on the preemption argument, siding with the plaintiff.
“Paying players to deliberately injure players on opposing teams cannot plausibly be said to be included in ‘terms and conditions of employment’ or the ‘course and scope of employment.’ … Suggesting that the intended target of the mayhem could in any way be bound by a CBA to yield his right to seek legal redress in the face of such deliberate aggression is not only inadmissible; it is ludicrous.”
Barrett Green v. Pro Football, INC. d/b/a The Washington Redskins, et al.; D. Md.; Civil No.: PJM 13-1961; 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92157; 200 L.R.R.M. 3020; 7/8/14
Attorneys of Record: (for plaintiff) Bruce M Plaxen, Plaxen and Adler PA, Columbia, MD; Michael J McAllister, PRO HAC VICE, Michael J McAllister PA, Miami Beach, FL; Seth Miles, PRO HAC VICE, Grossman Roth PA, Coral Gables, FL. (for defendants) Craig F Ballew, Robert Lawrence Ferguson , Jr, Ferguson Schetelich and Ballew PA, Baltimore, MD.
For the full opinion, visit http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/2014_0708_redskins_judge_messitte.pdf
