One common question people have is whether a player can file a lawsuit against a professional sports league. There have been situations over the years where players have gotten suspended.
In some cases, players get suspended because of issues that occur off the field. This may occur following arrests, drug violations, or other personal issues.
In some situations, players may get suspended due to activities that take place on the field. This commonly happens following instances of unsportsmanlike conduct or an illegal hit. When players get suspended, they usually have the right to appeal. Then, their case is decided by an arbitrator mutually agreed upon by the players and the league.
What happens if the arbitrator disagrees with the player's argument? Can the player file a lawsuit against the league? There are a few key points that everyone should keep in mind.
Players Have the Right To File a Lawsuit
One of the biggest reasons why players appeal their case following a suspension is that they usually are not paid for the games they have been suspended. For example, if an NFL player gets suspended for a single game, they lose one game check.
In some situations, this could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore, it is obvious why a player would not want to miss that game.
On the other hand, people rarely hear about a player filing a lawsuit against a league following a suspension. Even in the rare instances where a player files a lawsuit, this is usually not due to a suspension. What are the major risks of filing a lawsuit against a professional sports league?
The Risk of Ruining the League's Status as a Virtual Monopoly
When it comes to sports picks of the day, these are usually heavily dependent on whether or not a player has been suspended. On the other hand, the biggest risk that comes with filing a lawsuit against a professional sports league is that this could jeopardize the sports league's situation as a virtual monopoly suppose there is only one true professional baseball league in the United States.
The same is true of a professional hockey league, soccer league, football league, and basketball leagues. Sports leagues have the comfort of being a virtual monopoly in the United States. The government allows sports leagues to operate as such, in obvious violation of anti-trust agreements. The flip side of this is that sports leagues are expected to police themselves accordingly. If players end up filing lawsuits against professional sports leagues, then the sports league shows that they are not capable of policing themselves. Therefore, the government may end up breaking apart their monopoly.
Sports Leagues Are Allowed To Operate as Virtual Monopolies
In the end, players seldom file lawsuits against professional sports leagues because it jeopardizes their position as an employee in a monopoly. It will be interesting to see if sports leagues continue to be given this leeway in the years to come.
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