Event Date: April 2nd, 1987
Event Description: Week #7 Preview
USFL '86: The Season That Never Was
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Friday, June 25, 2021
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Monday, June 21, 2021
Friday, June 18, 2021
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
'87 Chronology-Do Not Pass Go
Event Date: March 18th, 1987
Event Description: Sports Antitrust
Source: UPI
Although antitrust suits usually evoke notions of international oil cartels or decades-long battles involving giant corporations, the laws forbidding limits on competition are also used to shape American sports.
The stakes are high and major restructuring of sports organizations can result from the court decisions. When the legal match is over, fan loyalties, player salaries and television schedules may never be the same.
Can a team owner in a league be prohibited by his fellow owners from moving to another city?
The NFL has been sued for a second time -- having already lost on the issue once -- by a team owner who wants the freedom to move his club without interference from other teams. The NFL, arguing it needs stability among its members, is seeking Congressional approval for an antitrust exemption to prevent such relocations.
Oakland and Baltimore are still fighting legal battles to try to bring back their NFL franchises who fled to Los Angeles and Indianapolis.
A trial this spring between the National Football League and the United States Football League in a federal court in Manhattan may answer that question and others about the business of professional football.
The nation's first antitrust law, the Sherman Act, was passed in 1890 and literally prohibits every agreement or other concerted activity in restraint of trade.
What makes monopoly so bad?
The general theory under the Sherman Act is that agreements among competitors to fix prices or divide territories give them the ability to charge unreasonable prices or outright exclude competitors instead of allowing prices to react to free market forces.
Monopoly behavior is deemed to be so repugnant to Americans that penalties are set tripling the victim's actual damages.
An antitrust trial involving football or bowling is not necessarily comparable to one involving the computer industry. The general legal theories are the same, but the nature of professional sports and the degree of mutual cooperation necessary to produce the entertainment product is also a factor that is considered by a jury.
In most of the disputes mentioned above, one or both of the parties alleges the other is conspiring to monopolize the sport. To prove the conspiracy, the complaining party must show that there has been deliberate action by two or more persons specifically intending to destroy competition or achieve a monopoly. At least one act furthering that end must be proven.
In some of the sports cases, the complaints are tied to a specific rule or clause of a league or association's constitution. The Raiders' suit against the NFL successfully established the illegality of the NFL's contitutional requirement that three-quarters of the owners must approve a franchise relocation.
But sometimes the alleged activity seeking to squelch competition can only be inferred from the circumstances. For example, the conduct of the accused might lead to the conclusion that there had been an agreement to shut out competitors -- even if there was no specific written or testimony from witnesses to spell out the illegal agreement.
The need to lay out detailed circumstances and tie the activities in to a scheme of deliberate monopoly behavior often forces trials of these cases to drag on for months and appeals to stretch for years.
Story-(UPI Modified)
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Monday, June 14, 2021
'87 Chronology-Scandalous
Event Date: March 16th, 1987
Event Description: Davis May Testify
Source: UPI
Los Angeles Raiders general managing partner Al Davis admits he may testify for the U.S. Football League in its antitrust case against the NFL.
“I'd be inclined right now to testify, if they asked me,” Davis said Thursday at the close of the NFL's winter meetings.
The Raiders were the only NFL team not included in the USFL's suit that claims the NFL has illegally monopolized professional football.
Davis, a nemesis of NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, said Oakland city officials, his opponents in a years long legal struggle over the team's ownership. Oakland unsuccessfully tried to takeover the Raiders through eminent domain.
He said a “big scandal” was about to bust loose in Oakland over the handling of the case. He added he had information that a federal probe was currently underway looking into the city government's secretly stashing away $30 million in public funds to be used to purchase the Raiders.
However, city councilman Wilson Riles Jr., who brought the $30 million fund to the public's attention, said Davis' statements were made to put pressure on city officials.
On his own successful antitrust action against the NFL, Davis said the damage portion of the suit would amount to about $70 million. That award currently is in front of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
When asked if the assessment would hurt the other 27 NFL teams, Davis said: “They can afford it. I'm not so sure about all this business about the clubs losing money. You have to look at the nepotism and who is getting paid.”
Story-(UPI-W.Murray Modified)
Saturday, June 12, 2021
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
'87 Chronology-Outside the Lines
Event Date: March 11th, 1987
Event Description: Dupree Out
Source: Eugene Register Guard
Monday, June 7, 2021
Sunday, June 6, 2021
'87 Chronology-Damage Control
Event Description: Surgery Scheduled
Source: UPI
Portland Breakers star running back Marcus Dupree was to undergo exploratory surgery Tuesday on his left knee, a team spokesman said Monday night.
Doctors will try to determine the extent of the damage Dupree suffered as he carried the ball late in the Breakers' game against Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Team doctors confirmed Monday that Dupree tore knee ligaments. He will miss at least several games and possibly the entire season.
Friday, June 4, 2021
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
'87 Chronology-Trial Balloon
Event Date: March 4th, 1987
Event Description: USFL v. NFL
Source: Chicago Tribune
The United States Football League took the first step last week in its antitrust suit against the National Football League when it asked a New York judge for a summary judgment. No judgment was granted, as expected, but the case may be moving toward a settlement.
After three hours of arguments from NFL and USFL attorneys, U.S. District Judge Peter Leisure set a trial date for May 12.
According to reports, Leisure twice has suggested the parties settle the case, an indication he is leaning toward one of the parties. Spencer Kopf, a Dallas judge and agent of several professional players, said he believes the loser will be the NFL.
''I don`t think the lawsuit will ever come to a trial,'' Kopf said. ''I think they`ll settle. There will be a merger, too. I think they’ll take at least two teams and possibly as many as six.''
Kopf said the NFL’s case was weakened when former Philadelphia owner Leonard Tose tried to move the Eagles to Arizona, while at the same time, he attempted to keep the USFL’s Stars out of Veterans Stadium.
Source: (Chicago Tribune-Story Modified)
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