Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s fantasy football lawsuit against the National Football League took a real life hit on Monday after a judge dismissed one of his claims.
On Monday, Judge Carl Ginsberg dismissed Romo’s claim of tortious interference by the NFL in last year’s cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention (NFFC). Romo’s claims for breach of contract and estoppel (aka legal hypocrisy) are still hoping to reach a trial by jury.
The NFFC was scheduled to take place last July at the Sands Expo, a convention center associated with Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Romo, who own a piece of the show’s organizer, The Fan Expo LLC, was set to appear at the NFFC along with a number of other current NFL players.
But the NFL intervened one month before the event was supposed to take place, threatening those players set to attend that they would be in violation of the league’s anti-gambling policy, which prohibits players from participating in events held at or sponsored by casinos.
Angered by what he viewed as the NFL’s kneejerk reaction to not getting a financial cut of the NFFC, Romo’s company filed suit against the league, seeking $1m in damages. The Fan Expo’s co-counsel Michael Hurst pulled no punches, accusing the NFL of “acting like a corporate thug.”
In court on Monday, NFL attorney Thad Behrens cited four events since 2012 in which the NFL had issued similar warnings to players. Behrens also claimed the league and the NFL Players Association were on the same page regarding the NFFC being in violation of league policy.
Hurst countered by saying that NFL’s response was more about money and control than adhering to an inconsistently enforced policy. Hurst said the NFL acts like players are “chattel” despite the fact that players ‘have their own independent lives and they are not required to do everything in favor of the NFL.”
Behrens eventually won that argument, and he praised Judge Ginsberg’s “careful” and “correct” analysis of the tortious interference claim. Undaunted, Hurst said The Fan Expo would appeal Ginsberg’s ruling and he hopes to depose NFL commish Roger Goodell on the two remaining claims.
GRONK’S FLOATING CASINO PARTY TAKES ON WATER
During Hurst’s argument on Monday, he detailed the NFL’s inconsistency on the gambling issue by referencing the four-day booze cruise that New England Patriots tight end Ron Gronkowski hosted for fans on a Norwegian Cruise Line two weeks ago, apparently with the full knowledge and blessing of the NFL, despite the ship featuring an onboard casino.
In court, Behrens claimed the NFLPA and Gronkowski’s agent had been warned that the casino cruise could be in violation of league policy. But an NFL spokesman told ESPN that Behrens was referencing testimony from January, before Gronk’s party boat set sail, and that the league had “no information that indicates a violation of policy” regarding the cruise.
Precisely why the proximity of a shipboard casino is less offensive to the NFL’s delicate sensibilities than a land-based gaming venue remains a mystery, but you can be sure Romo’s attorneys will resurrect this issue if and when the matter gets before a jury.
