'85 Chronology-Court Date

Event Date: September 9th, 1985

Event Description: Invaders File Suit

Source: UPI

The U.S. Football League filed a $90 million antitrust suit in federal court Thursday, charging the National Football League conspired to monopolize pro football and undermine the Oakland Invaders.

In the U.S. District Court suit filed in San Francisco, the Invaders are portrayed as victims of the effort by the city of Oakland and its mayor, Lionel Wilson, to win the return of the Los Angeles Raiders to Oakland.

The USFL suit states the NFL, league commissioner Pete Rozelle and 27 of the 28 NFL teams have engaged in a campaign of “discouraging public and media interest in and support for the USFL, and particularly the local USFL member club, the Oakland Invaders.”

The only club not named in the suit is the Los Angeles Raiders.

Beverly Hills attorney Jeffery Charlston, who filed the suit for the USFL, refused any comment on the case, including the reason for exempting the Raiders, and said he could not elaborate on why a separate action was filed specifically complaining of actions against the Invaders.

The city of Oakland is not named in the suit but is considered a “co-conspirator” along with the Alameda County Coliseum Commission, which operates the stadium where the Invaders now play and where the Raiders used to play.

The suit claims the USFL has suffered financially by Mayor Wilson's continued efforts to acquire an NFL franchise for Oakland. The city has sought unsuccessfuly through the courts to get the Raiders to return.

The action “disparages the professional football product being offered by the Invaders ... threatens to place the Invaders at a permanent competitive disadvantage”... and fosters a belief among fans, television networks and players that “expansion of the NFL is imminent” and “the demise of the USFL is inevitable,” according to the court document.

Story-(UPI Modified)