Sen. Specter: "Eagles may have violated antitrust laws in punishing the WR"

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Sparks from Specter in the T.O. case
The senator says the NFL and the Eagles may have violated antitrust laws in punishing the wide receiver.
By Amy Worden and Larry Eichel

Sen. Arlen Specter, ardent Eagles fan and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, yesterday accused the NFL and its Philadelphia franchise of potentially violating antitrust laws in their treatment of Terrell Owens.

Speaking at a news conference in Harrisburg, Specter (R., Pa.) said he was investigating the matter and might refer it to the Senate panel's antitrust subcommittee.

The senator said the league and the Eagles had effectively blacklisted the all-pro wide receiver by forbidding him from playing and by banning other teams from talking to him. He called such treatment "vindictive and inappropriate."

"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws," Specter said. "The NFL can have whatever rules it wants on authorizing suspension or keeping you on the team for the balance of the year, but they can't violate the law."

Several legal experts consulted yesterday didn't see it that way. They noted that courts generally have held that collective-bargaining agreements - such as the one under which Owens was disciplined - take precedence over antitrust laws on terms of employment.

"As much as I hate to disagree with the esteemed senator, I don't see an antitrust claim here," said Matthew J. Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. "We're in the labor arena, not antitrust."

On Nov. 5, the Eagles suspended Owens for four games without pay for conduct "detrimental to the team." The team also made clear its intention to deactivate him with pay after the suspension ended, as it did this past Sunday.

Last week, arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld the team's right to do all of that, saying those steps were in keeping with the labor agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association.

An NFL spokesman commented yesterday that it was "difficult to see" how antitrust laws might have been violated.

Said league spokesman Greg Aiello: "The arbitrator's decision is consistent with our collective-bargaining agreement, and it simply enforced the terms of the player's contract."

Specter said his interest in the antitrust issue was piqued by news yesterday that the Eagles had filed a complaint with the NFL against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The complaint accused Jones of "tampering" with Owens' contract by making comments suggesting that the Cowboys might consider signing him.

"I am madder than hell at what he [Owens] has done in ruining the Eagles' season, or doing his utmost to ruin the season," Specter said. "I think he's in flagrant breach of his contract, and the Eagles would be in their rights to not pay him another dime, perhaps even sue him for damages they have sustained.

"But I do not believe, personally, it is appropriate to punish him. He's not committed a crime; he's committed a breach of contract."

Specter added that the NFL has only a limited exemption from antitrust laws, one that allows member teams to share revenues.

But the law professors who study antitrust law and its relation to sports said they were hard-pressed to see what those statutes might have to do with the Owens case.

"To have an antitrust violation, you have a contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade," said Robert McCormick, a law professor at Michigan State University. "The Eagles would have to collude with the 31 other teams to make sure that no one would hire Terrell Owens. And we're not there yet."

If an antitrust issue did exist, the experts said, the contract still would almost surely trump it - under what the courts have established as the "non-statutory labor exemption" to the antitrust laws.

That exemption was at the heart of the federal court decision last year in the case of Maurice Clarett, a former Ohio State University running back who challenged the NFL's rule about when a player is old enough to enter the draft. The court disallowed Clarett's challenge on the grounds that the league and union had established the rule through collective bargaining.

Michael McCann, a sports-law expert at Mississippi College Law School, said the ambiguity of the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement - in not specifying any detailed meaning of conduct "detrimental to the team" - might allow antitrust laws to apply.

The Eagles had no comment on Specter's remarks. Owens and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were not available for comment.​

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

I knew we would all pay for the TO saga eventually, what worthwhile use of our tax dollars...

 

[kartr]

Specter is absolutely right. The Eagles are trying have their cake and eat it too. We have right to work laws in this country. If your employer has a problem with your work, they have the right to suspend you temporarily before restoring you to your duties or terminating you out right. They have no right to prohibit you from working indefinitely for them or anyone else. They are reinforcing to me why they have never won a superbowl and never will. They are petty, greedy and cheap and creating a contentious and unfriendly environment for their employees. It would not surprise me if a mass exodus of good players from that organization occurred. I don't support everything that TO has said and done, but he is not all wrong and they're not all right either. Many players in the organization who are 'quality people' support TO and Cory Simon and Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent are good guys that they played hard ball with and it will cost them dearly.

 

[joseephuss]

Specter is absolutely right. The Eagles are trying have their cake and eat it too. We have right to work laws in this country. If your employer has a problem with your work, they have the right to suspend you temporarily before restoring you to your duties or terminating you out right. They have no right to prohibit you from working indefinitely for them or anyone else. They are reinforcing to me why they have never won a superbowl and never will. They are petty, greedy and cheap and creating a contentious and unfriendly environment for their employees. It would not surprise me if a mass exodus of good players from that organization occurred. I don't support everything that TO has said and done, but he is not all wrong and they're not all right either. Many players in the organization who are 'quality people' support TO and Cory Simon and Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent are good guys that they played hard ball with and it will cost them dearly.

He will be paid. As long as he is paid, then the employer has every right to keep him away from the office. The employer has a right to do what his best for the business. Paying a single employee to stay away is not out of line. People get suspended with pay quite often in the business world.

I do agree that the Eagles do some things that will keep them from winning it all, but they also do some things that have kept them near the top of the NFL the last several seasons.

 

[burmafrd]

Good God. this is not a day laborer here- this guy MAKES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. EVEN NOW. He is getting his money- he is just being prevented from messing up the TEAM - remember that - then he already has.
Not suprised our Q man lover would support TO.

 

[rcaldw]

Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of the guys we pay to run the country as our representatives spending their time in the sports arena?

Leave baseball alone
Leave football alone
Leave hockey and basketball alone

And stay in the realm of politics please.

I swear I think these guys must get bored or something.

 

[conner01]

spector is an idiot. how is it an anti trust violation if they are paying him? t.o. gets paid the same thing he would have gotten if he was playing. if you don't take away the money then there is no violation. the last thing we need is stupid politician getting involved in sports.i wish i could get suspened from work but still get paid.

 

[wileedog]

We have right to work laws in this country.

Owens is being paid millions of dollars to stay home.

I'd like to have a legal right to that kind of work.

And BTW, if Owens really concerned about "putting food on the table for his family", there is absolutely nothing stopping him from flipping burgers for the next couple months until the season ends.

 

[Rack]

Owens is being paid millions of dollars to stay home.

I'd like to have a legal right to that kind of work.

Can I get an 'Amen'?

 

[Hiero]

Nice a taste of their own medicine. I hope they fire Reid.

 

[NotReally]

Soooooo, if my employer says "Go home and I'll pay you your regular salary for doing no work whatsover" that's not only PUNISHING ME, but rises to the level of an anti-trust violation???? LOL! What a joke!!!

 

[kartr]

Soooooo, if my employer says "Go home and I'll pay you your regular salary for doing no work whatsover" that's not only PUNISHING ME, but rises to the level of an anti-trust violation???? LOL! What a joke!!!

You're missing the point. If your employer would pay you for no work, which he wouldn't, so it's a moot point. But you could just resign and go work for someone else and do the work you want to do. By not allowing him to play NFL football period, they are in effect blacklisting him from an industry. If he had gambled or stole or some kind of criminal offense especially pertaining to the industry, then they would have justification. They are in effect 'blacklisting' him because they don't like his attitude, not his work. That's the difference.

 

[kartr]

Owens is being paid millions of dollars to stay home.

I'd like to have a legal right to that kind of work.

And BTW, if Owens really concerned about "putting food on the table for his family", there is absolutely nothing stopping him from flipping burgers for the next couple months until the season ends.

You're just a regular guy, your boss could replace you in a heart beat. Owens is an elite athlete. You can't compare yourself to him, that's the real joke. Less than 2000 people in the country are professional athletes and Owens is considered a top ten NFL player, that's a big difference.

 

[kartr]

Good God. this is not a day laborer here- this guy MAKES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. EVEN NOW. He is getting his money- he is just being prevented from messing up the TEAM - remember that - then he already has.
Not suprised our Q man lover would support TO.

Your Q man lover crack is out of whack. Mariuchi got his walking papers yesterday because he didn't have a decent QB on his team. QC played twice against Mariuchi's teams and had qb ratings over 100 both times, so he could have helped save Mariuchi's no-coaching butt, and Mariuchi will be joined by more coaches getting the ax because of faulty qb play, and they all will deserve it.

 

[kartr]

He will be paid. As long as he is paid, then the employer has every right to keep him away from the office. The employer has a right to do what his best for the business. Paying a single employee to stay away is not out of line. People get suspended with pay quite often in the business world.

I do agree that the Eagles do some things that will keep them from winning it all, but they also do some things that have kept them near the top of the NFL the last several seasons.

Under the circumstances, TO should have the right to resign his position as you or I would and go work somewhere else. It's not all about getting paid.

 

[blindzebra]

But were Owens and Rosenhaus brought down by a single bullet or was Jerry shooting from the grassy knoll.

 

[Jarv]

Under the circumstances, TO should have the right to resign his position as you or I would and go work somewhere else. It's not all about getting paid.

You can't rsign from a position when you have a contract. Thats different from working a MacDonalds where you are hired but do not get a "Contract"...Different situations.

Now, TO signed a contract for x amount of years at a certain salary each year. He was also given a 7 figure bonus to supplement the salary over the x amount of years.

I don't know the exact numbers, but for example it lets say it was 10 million over 5 years for the bonus.

Thats 2 million a year. He played last year and the Eagles will pay him for this year.

So, I he wants to resign AFTER getting the signing bonus, then I think he should have every right also. Just give back the remaining 6 million for the 3 years left on your contract (2 million/year x 3 years).

I'm sure the Eagles would let him resign if he did that. Of course, that would still hurt the Eagles on the cap numbers.

Everyone knows TO wants to get released and keep the 6 million, that is the problem.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

But were Owens and Rosenhaus brought down by a single bullet or was Jerry shooting from the grassy knoll.

I think that the ultimate answer is "not proven".

 

[VACowboy]

Owens IS working. He's just doing it from home. The Eagles want him to sit on his couch. He's being well-paid to do so.

 

[TruBlueCowboy]

Boy.... Ralph Nader tried to get involved, Jesse Jackson showed up for the party, and now Senator Spector is grabbing the headlines. They went crazy about steroids in baseball too. If only our political leaders could take real issues this serious. We could have world peace tomorrow if leaders thought their team's success was at stake.