Has the Legal Tide Turned Against Retired Professional Athletes Seeking California Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

By Jonathan L. Israel   This past January, in Cincinnati Bengals, Inc. v. Abdullah (“Abdullah II”),[1] a federal district court in Ohio confirmed an arbitration decision holding that certain retired Bengals players were barred from pursuing workers’ compensation benefits in California based on the Ohio choice of law and forum clauses in their player contracts. The decision itself was hardly groundbreaking. Under similar choice of forum and law provisions, NFL arbitrators and federal c