Could Terrell Owens Circus' next stop be the U.S. Senate?
Terrell Owens's suspension and benching by the Philadelphia Eagles might violate antitrust laws and lead to a congressional inquiry, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said.
Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican and former Philadelphia district attorney, said at a news conference that he might refer the matter to the Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel.
"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws,'' Specter said yesterday at a news conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that was recorded by the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
Hogwash and other explitives!!
Here's an interesting analogy. Let's say that a staffer on Senator Specter's staff decided to hold out for more money, then proceed to be disruptive in the office, bad mouth the Chief of Staff and call the Senator's office a "classless organization." What would be the result?
That's right, just like any other organization in America, the staffer would be fired, on the spot, with no recourse and maybe not even enough time to clean out his desk. People have been fired from Hill jobs for less.
Owens is a grown man, experienced in player contracts and represented by a man who obstensibly knows what he is doing. The two sides agreed to a contract under a collective bargaining agreement that permits teams to punish players for disruptive behavior. The Eagles are eating several millions dollars in salary they will have to pay Owens.
Owens is going to be, wait for it, paid for not playing. The Eagles are deactivating him, in order to prevent him from playing for opposing teams. But Specter shows that he clearly does not understand the situation with the contract between T.O. and the Eagles:
"I think he's in flagrant breach of his contract, and the Eagles would be in their rights to not pay him another dime, perhaps even sue him for damages they have sustained,'' Specter said of Owens. "But I do not believe, personally, it is appropriate to punish him. He's not committed a crime; he's committed a breach of contract. What they're doing is vindictive.''
This punishment is completely authorized by the collective bargaining agreement between the players union and the NFL. If the Eagles chose not to pay Owens, they could do that, but that means putting him on waivers, which means he could be suiting up against the Eagles on Sunday--clearly something they don't want to do in the run-ups to the playoffs. So while Owens is under contract, the Eagles will pay him for the rest of the season and then release him. It is their rights under the contract they are exercising, rights affirmed by an arbitrator.
Others: OTB, Conservative Outpost
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