Somewhere Celebrating NFL 100 – You know what bothers me? A judge of a court, say, Judge Joseph Spero, who asks a question that proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he or she did not bother to read the documents associated with the case they were assigned to preside over.
In this instance that judge is none other the same esteemed Magestrate Judge Joseph Spero, and the case is the City of Oakland lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders and the National Football League, and the document associated with the case is called the NFL’s “Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations” AKA the “NFL Relocation Bylaws” which you can read via a click on this link.
During the initial hearing on the lawsuit, Judge Spero asked “Why is it anti-competitive to allow teams to do what they want?” Well, that question should not have been asked, because a simple read of the “Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations”, would show that the NFL itself prohibits such a raison d’etre.
The document reads as follows:
“Article 4.3 also confirms that no club has an “entitlement” to relocate simply because it perceives an opportunity for enhanced club revenues in another location. Indeed, League traditions disfavor relocations if a club has been well-supported and financially successful and is expected to remain so.
In other words, just because the Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis perceives that Las Vegas presents an opportunity for “ enhanced club revenues” does not mean he can just team up with up Las Vegas Sands Sheldon Adelson, move his team to Sin City, and leave Oakland.
One can’t say that Judge Spero doesn’t recognize the existence of the NFL Relocation Bylaws because he did refer to them in court, several times. So, Judge Spero is aware of the “Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations”, document – but he obviously didn’t read it.
The NFL rules don’t allow a team to “do what it wants” because if that were the case, the National Football League would not have insisted, at least in the written NFL Relocation Bylaws that…
“Because League policy favors stable team-community relations, clubs are obligated to work diligently and in good faith to obtain and to maintain suitable stadium facilities in their home territories, and to operate in a manner that maximizes fan support in their current home community.”
What that means, in plan English, is this:
1) You don’t mislead or misrepresent your intentions regarding keeping the Raiders in Oakland to the representatives of the “community.” In the Raiders lawsuit, that points to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who tweeted “The NFL’s Billionaires Boys Club ditched Oakland out of sheer greed and left taxpayers with millions in unpaid stadium debt. Our community’s support and loyalty were met with nothing but bad faith. Today we’re standing up for residents, taxpayers and fans.”
2) See 1, above.
That pretty much means the “community”, meaning Oakland, believes the Oakland Raiders NFL Football Club did, indeed, not work in good faith with it. Think about it. We even have a word match between the NFL Relocation Bylaws and Mayor Schaaf’s tweet: the word “faith” – NFL calls for good faith, Libby says Oakland got bad faith from the Raiders.
See that, Spero?
Word To Judge Spero: Please Read The Case Documents
So, again, the Oakland Raiders can’t “do what it wants” because the NFL itself won’t allow it to – it says so.
I could go on, and on, but I’ll stop for now. There’s more that proves Judge Spero didn’t read the NFL Relocation Bylaws.
Last time, I wrote this:
If the City of Oakland can get a new judge to hear its anti-trust lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders, it should do so with all deliberate speed. The current head of the court, the esteemed Magestrate Judge Joseph Spero, is proving he doesn’t know anything about the business of pro football, let alone how the NFL works.
Because of that, to believe Judge Joe Spero’s going to come into the realities of how the NFL works is a pipe dream – Judge Spero remains stuck on stupid. That’s the only way anyone can explain his decision to grant the Raiders and NFL lawyers motion to dismiss the case.
I now add that Joe Spero simply doesn’t do his homework.
Stay tuned.