theogt
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POSTED 9:07 p.m. EDT, October 17, 2007
BRYANT SUES NFL
Receiver Antonio Bryant, currently unsigned by any NFL team and apparently facing a one-year suspension for allegedly failing to comply with the substance-abuse policy, has sued the National Football League.
Bryant raises a novel yet no-nonsense argument. He claims that he was subjected to the requirements of the substance-abuse policy at a time when he was not employed by any NFL team and, consequently, not subject to league scrutiny.
The suit, filed on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, alleges tortious interference with Bryant's prospective contractual and business relationships, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deceit based on fraud. Perhaps the most intriguing theory is one of false imprisonment; Bryant asserts that the NFL detained him unlawfully in order to compel him to provide urine samples under circumstances in which the NFL had no such authority, since Bryant was not employed by any NFL team.
Bryant's legal counsel is alsohis agent, Peter Schaffer of All Pro Sports & Entertainment. Schaffer has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order aimed apparently at compelling the NFL to permit Bryant to join an NFL team.
The fact that Bryant saw fit to file suit suggests that one or more NFL teams might be inclined to sign him, if he is able to play without the looming threat of a one-year suspension.
Our guess is that the NFL will argue that the case should be dismissed because the relationship between Bryant and the league is governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and that Bryant's remedies are exclusively set forth in the CBA.
But is he a member of the union? Per the NFLPA constitution, a player actively seeking employment is "eligible" to be a member. This means that the player who is not with a team is not a member of the union, unless he wants to be.
Though it's too early to tell how this will play out, if Bryant can prove he was not in the union at a time when the NFL was subjecting him to testing, Bryant's claims might very well be permitted to proceed.
Bryant was suspended for four games late last year. He served two games as a member of the 49ers, who cut him on March 1, 2007. He received credit for the other two games of the suspension while unsigned.
