Judge allows Washington bounty lawsuit to proceed

[The Rammer]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/10/judge-allows-washington-bounty-lawsuit-to-proceed/

Posted by Mike Florio on July 10, 2014, 12:52 PM EDT

AP
It’s been a bad month in court for the Washington NFL franchise.
In June, the team owned by Daniel Snyder lost its federal trademark protection. (The decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been appealed.) Now, the team has lost the first round of a fight regarding a bounty system allegedly used by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, a judge in Maryland declined to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former NFL linebacker Barrett Green against the team and tight end Robert Royal. Green contends he was deliberately injured by Royal under the bounty system maintained by Williams, who now serves as the defensive coordinator in St. Louis.
The team challenged the lawsuit as being filed too late and barred by the labor deal between the NFL and NFLPA.
“[T]he battery alleged here — a block intentionally designed to cause physical injury harm — could not conceivably be authorized under the CBA, and therefore is not inextricably intertwined with it,” the judge wrote, per Kaplan.
While it doesn’t mean Green will win, he has secured for now the ability to develop evidence to support his claims, including sworn testimony from Williams and the men who played for Williams in Washington and elsewhere.
Yes, playing football entails physical risk. But certain risks should not be tucked under that umbrella, such as the risk that someone will use the cover of football as a way to deliberately injure another player.
Could it open the floodgates for other lawsuits by players who believe they’ve been intentionally injured by opponents? Possibly. But not many cases will carry with them evidence of a bounty system aimed at rewarding, and thus enticing, efforts to knock opposing players out of a game.
It’s safe to say that, as to Williams’ past use of a bounty system, it’s unlikely that other lawsuits will be filed. More than two years have passed since the bounty program was exposed; in most American jurisdictions, the statute of limitations for injury cases stands at two years.
For anyone injured by a Gregg Williams bounty program, the clock began to tick no later than two years after the NFL disclosed that Williams had a bounty program in New Orleans, triggering a flurry of reports that Williams used a similar system in other cities, like Washington, Jacksonville, and Buffalo.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Oh good lord, it's football people! Pink socks for this league fits about right these days. I posted this in another thread but it bears reposting here.

 

[Barrison]

If you're complaining about getting hurt, maybe you weren't meant for the NFL. I understand Williams was nassssty back then but come on this is a mans game for a reason son!

 

[Boffo97]

This was actually posted here: http://ramsondemand.com/threads/gregg-williams-and-bountygate-back-in-the-news.27358/

That said, in response to the comments, yes, you'll get hurt playing this game, and yes, it's a man's game. BUT a real man should never be trying to DELIBERATELY hurt his opponents. Because if everyone goes to that level, you no longer have a game, you have gladiatorial combat. And it's bad for the game if people who could have gone on to have awesome careers are taken out by cheap shots.

I don't know about you guys, but if I found out Mike Mitchell had been seeking and received a bounty for injuring Sam Bradford, I would have been PISSED.

It's why I was against the hiring of Williams (though I'm very well aware that I'm likely the only one who thinks so), but willing to give Fisher the benefit of the doubt, so long as if there's even a hint of a bounty system on the Rams, Fisher kicks Williams out so hard that Williams will have a permanent Fisher shoe print on his keister.

 

[Barrison]

This was actually posted here: http://ramsondemand.com/threads/gregg-williams-and-bountygate-back-in-the-news.27358/

That said, in response to the comments, yes, you'll get hurt playing this game, and yes, it's a man's game. BUT a real man should never be trying to DELIBERATELY hurt his opponents. Because if everyone goes to that level, you no longer have a game, you have gladiatorial combat. And it's bad for the game if people who could have gone on to have awesome careers are taken out by cheap shots.

I don't know about you guys, but if I found out Mike Mitchell had been seeking and received a bounty for injuring Sam Bradford, I would have been PISSED.

It's why I was against the hiring of Williams (though I'm very well aware that I'm likely the only one who thinks so), but willing to give Fisher the benefit of the doubt, so long as if there's even a hint of a bounty system on the Rams, Fisher kicks Williams out so hard that Williams will have a permanent Fisher shoe print on his keister.

No you don't want to intentionally try to hurt them, but i'll tell you what I want our D to hit so hard that they DON'T want to get back up. Intentionally causing an injury is weak shit but trying to lay the wood on every single play is the epitome of the NFL and if they don't get back up that's there problem. I'm sure Deacon would agree!

 

[Boffo97]

No you don't want to intentionally try to hurt them, but i'll tell you what I want our D to hit so hard that they DON'T want to get back up. Intentionally causing an injury is weak crap but trying to lay the wood on every single play is the epitome of the NFL and if they don't get back up that's there problem. I'm sure Deacon would agree!

I have no problem with playing hard. But bounties aren't about playing hard. They're about intentional injury.

 

[Barrison]

I have no problem with playing hard. But bounties aren't about playing hard. They're about intentional injury.

But what if a system is in place with no cash, could he still get in trouble?

 

[Boffo97]

But what if a system is in place with no cash, could he still get in trouble?

Even if the coach is only advising players to deliberately hurt people instead of just doing what's necessary to win the game, the player and coach can and should get in trouble.