Reports have confirmed by the NFLPA that the U.S. Department of Labor is investigating allegations of racketeering and other illegal activities by the union. The lawsuit alleges that some top NFLPA representatives, certain NFL owners and commissioner Roger Goodell met in advance of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. It further alleges that the NFLPA representatives gave the commissioner and owners access to information critical to the negotiations at this meeting.
The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating racketeering allegations against commissioner Goodell, NFL owners and players reps.
The informant for the Department of Labor was the NFL’s director of human resources Mary Moran, who named former NFLPA President Troy Vincent and Texans’ owner Bob McNair as two of the individuals present at the meeting.
Moran, who is Jewish, alleges further that Vincent called her a “Jezebel” repeatedly, a derogatory term for Jewish women. She also claims that after exposing Vincent she received death threats. Moran is filing the lawsuit, after she claims that she was wrongfully removed from her job as the director of human resources.
The most significant thing is what this lawsuit alleges in terms of collusion and what that actually means for the NFL. The fact that Goodell, the NFL’s commissioner, is being named as being present in the meeting Moran references in the lawsuit is a startling development. It would mean that he has taken an active part in colluding against players with the aid of owners and certain NFLPA representatives in advance of collective bargaining agreement talks.
Even more damning is the allegation against NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. Moran states that Smith met with a Department of Justice official in a bid to stop the investigation in April. This came only a few weeks after Moran began cooperating with the investigation.
What makes this story such a surprise is how the media has focused no time at all on this story. No ESPN investigative reports, no columns denouncing the perpetrators of such an act, no talking heads discussing if these allegations are true what actions should be taken against Goodell and the others involved.
The question is simple. How can this not be a major story? We have a commissioner who rode in on his high horse two years ago, with the sole purpose of cleaning up the image of the league, now accused of colluding against the players association. We have owners of NFL teams being accused of being present at the meeting and we even have NFLPA representatives stabbing their own in the back to provide information to Goodell and the owners in a bid to gain more support when NFLPA officials are selected.
This has all the makings of a story ready to be busted wide open, but the sports media would rather point our attention away from anything that could detract from image of both the NFL and commissioner Goodell. So instead we are bombarded with stories about Tom Brady’s knee and Brett Favre’s comeback. These stories pump the NFL up, create intrigue and generate ratings and ticket sales, the opposite of what reporting a federal probe into collusion allegations against commissioner Goodell, owners and NFL players reps would do.
This is what this story actually means. In a league where a player can have his contract voided and cut at any time by his team, the league’s top officials attempted to collude with NFLPA reps in advance of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. These allegations essentially point to an attempt to give even more power to the NFL and its owners while the players continue to give up any remaining leverage they have.
Sounds like a story that should be reported, but expect ESPN and the rest of the major sports media to continue to give Goodell and the owners a pass while they continue to get record ratings from the NFL.