The long arm of the law reached out and smacked the NFL around over the last couple of weeks, with no bigger moment than a federal appeals judge putting the smack down on the Washington Redskins, upholding the cancellation of the trademark of the name “Redskins.”
Loss of a federal trademark registration doesn't preclude the Washington Redskins from being the Washington Redskins: http://t.co/eLZ5v0aoJt
— Forbes (@Forbes) July 9, 2015
It’s a blow that, you would think, would end all discussion on changing the name, but since Dan Snyder’s involved, none of us know how really stupid this could all get. So, needless to say, Snyder is going to appeal that decision as well.
“We are convinced that we will win on appeal as the facts and the law are on the side of our franchise,” Redskins president Bruce Allen said in a statement. “That has proudly used the name Washington Redskins for more than 80 years.”
The ruling from Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, and Hell yes that’s his name, re-affirms the findings of the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board from last year, who ruled that the name was offensive and ineligible for trademark protection.
“This case is about humanizing the indigenous identity,” Amanda Blackhorse, Navajo activist said. “I have asked this many times before and have never heard a sensible answer; if people wouldn’t dare call a Native American a ‘redskin’ because they know it is offensive, how can an NFL football team have this name?”
Meet @blackhorse_a, the #Navajo woman who got the Washington #Redskins’ trademark revoked. http://t.co/MZtbslW5NE pic.twitter.com/v9tV29OVLY
— Voto Latino (@votolatino) July 17, 2015
Cheerleaders must be treated as employees in California
The NFL has a weird relationship with its cheerleaders, but in California it just got a little less crazy. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation that would force all professional sports teams to pay cheerleaders at least minimum wage and overtime and if you’re shocked that wasn’t already happening, that just means you have a soul.
A big, important win for NFL cheerleaders: http://t.co/D8EIqWurxz pic.twitter.com/Eu3z2XdEUl
— Esquire (@esquire) July 17, 2015
The bad news is the law doesn’t come into effect until 2016, so California teams can still abuse and underpay their glorified Hooters waitresses for another solid season. Last year former Raiders cheerleaders sued, along with former Tampa Bay Cheerleaders, and got to split part of a $1.25 million settlement.
The NFL, for its part, has no real stake in the ruling. Teams run their own cheerleading squads and, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, are expected to follow all state and federal employment laws. They have not been doing that.
In fact, according to assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, Raiderettes were paid less than $5 an hour through a contract and received no extra money for rehearsals and public appearances. They also had to pay their own travel costs.
“We would never tolerate shortchanging of women workers at any other workplace. An NFL game should be no different,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
NFL and DirecTV sued over NFL Sunday Ticket
There’s a good chance that NFL Sunday Ticket is the only reason DirecTV is still in business and after a lawsuit this week, filed by the Ninth Inning Inc. bar in San Francisco, Calif., that might change, at least for your local chicken wings and drinking establishment.
Bar Sues NFL & DirecTV, Alleging NFL Sunday Ticket Is Illegal Monopoly http://t.co/tef33f6XzA
— chris morran (@themorrancave) July 16, 2015
The lawsuit alleges that the exclusive deal between the NFL and DirecTV stifles competition by keeping other cable and satellite providers from airing out-of-market games. It also keeps teams from competing to get their games broadcast outside their home markets.
The lawsuit states that “DirecTV’s arrangement with the NFL allows the defendants to restrict the output of, and raise the prices for, the live broadcast of NFL Sunday afternoon out of market games.”
While the cost for NFL Sunday ticket in a home is roughly around $200 a year, bars and restaurants have to pay much more, sometimes as much as $2,300.
All this comes just a month after the league and satellite provider were sued a fan for not selling single-team packages and forcing their customers to buy all available games. A similar suit forced the NHL to offer single-team deals and the NBA soon followed.
The NFL and DirecTV just signed a new $1.5 billion a year deal to keep Sunday Ticket exclusive through the 2022-23 season.
Other news
Former New England Patriots cornerback Will Allen was indicted on 23 felony charges, 12 of them wire fraud and six counts of identity theft this week. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the 12 wire fraud charges.
Last week former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald was officially charged with felony false imprisonment, misdemeanor domestic violence, child endangerment and violating a court order from his May 24 domestic violence arrest.
Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper’s sentencing was delayed to Oct. 1 this week after his probation officer asked for more time to put together a pre-sentence report. Sharper was convicted for drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women in four different states.
Former Houston Texans wide receiver JuJuan Dawson died last Sunday after falling from an inflatable tube towed from a boat on Lavon Lake in Texas. He was 37 years old.
