04/24/24
October 03, 2006
Chelios, et. al., v. Saskin, et. al.: Chris Chelios, Dwayne Roloson and Trent Klatt have filed a federal lawsuit against the NHLPA, current NHLPA executive director Ted Saskin, as well as Trevor Linden, Bill Guerin, Vincent Damphousse and Bob Boughner. The lockout debacle may not quite be dead yet. A nice (legal-ese intense) summary from the Sports Law Blog here.
posted by Ufez Jones to hockey at 10:11 PM - 14 comments
I don't understand, Ufez, why is the timing suspect? Other than the regular season starting this week but then one could say, hey, it's been a year and these players can't get satisfaction privately.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:53 PM on October 03, 2006
Well, bill, as I see it (and believe me, I have precious little understanding of the legal system), players are suing their own union, including former reps of said union, less than 30 hours before the league faces off. Granted, Chelios et. al. claim to have 100+ players on their side, so it's not inherently just for personal gain, but the timing is, IMO a bit suspect - at least from a maximum exposure standpoint. BTW: Can anyone think of another time when a capsule of players sued their own union? If so, what was the result?
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:07 AM on October 04, 2006
Re: Suspect Timing Why wouldn't they want to announce their lawsuit when it would get the most exposure and (they hope) the most amount of public sympathy? If they announced it in say, the middle of July, it would hurt their bargaining position in settlement discussions.
posted by apoch at 07:26 AM on October 04, 2006
Guys, it's a court case, it's not being leveraged for public support - that's non-existent - they're trying to get Saskin out. This particular group has been trying for the better part of a year. And they don't get to pick the timing. The beginnings of this law suit go back 12 months.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:34 AM on October 04, 2006
I think the timing is perfect to accomplish their goal. You want Saskin out, enough negative fan reaction could help force him into a "leave of absence" or a resignation. The NHL does not need anymore bad publicity and may just try to make everyone happy quietly.
posted by Debo270 at 09:42 AM on October 04, 2006
They're trying to get Saskin out, and crash the party that is the new season for the League, and the now super-league friendly NHLPA. Fans are in the middle, and are distracted by the case, but their opinion is irrelevant. The story being in the hockey news cycle is what matters.
posted by garfield at 10:06 AM on October 04, 2006
Why would a fan care is Saskin was in or out? What public support is being leveraged? It is hockey news, because, well, technically it's news about hockey and it's at best interesting to hear about a union suing their alledgedly elected officials (and it's echos of the lockout) but there is no public opinion swaying here, no public support needed and no jury being utilized. Fan reaction will not budge Saskin one bit. It couldn't budge Goodenow (the CBA did that) nor Eagleson (the FBI did that). Because fans are irrelevant in this issue.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:05 AM on October 04, 2006
Fans would care because the media makes it news. The media tells fans what they should care about. If fans start to read about players from their team being affected they start to care. 98% of what we read in the papers or hear on ESPN has NO bearing on us but the media can make anything an issue. Case and point. We are discussing this on line and I really dont care about it
posted by Debo270 at 11:47 AM on October 04, 2006
Well, if you don't care then it must not be news.
posted by yerfatma at 12:02 PM on October 04, 2006
Yeah I agree, I really don't care what Saskin does, or any of the others. Where was this lawsuit 6 months ago. What are they going to do, threaten to walk off the ice if they don't get ther way. Yeah, right. It's all about the money babby.
posted by Psycho at 06:39 PM on October 04, 2006
Just pull the plug on the NHL. Its been dead since Gretzky retired. They need to get rid of the offside penalty (same with soccer or futbol) in order to increase scoring and fan interest. In Hockey the most exciting plays are the break-aways and the penalty shots. Ok the fighting is pretty cool too, but watching a 1-0 game is booooooorrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg.
posted by LA-4-Life at 06:40 PM on October 04, 2006
They need to get rid of the offside penalty (same with soccer or futbol) in order to increase scoring and fan interest. Ok the fighting is pretty cool too, but watching a 1-0 game is booooooorrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg. Little off topic aren't we? Sounds like someone who has NEVER played the game. While we're getting rid of offsides (for which there is no penalty),why not get rid of it in the NFL and CFL too. A 1-0 game is great, every play means something. Every save, every shot, every shift.
posted by tommybiden at 07:29 PM on October 04, 2006
Damn the media. I wish they would just stop with their silly games. They fill my head with newsy-fact-like stuff and I can't think about anything else. I'm with Weedy on this one. Can you blame these guys for wanting all remnants of Goodenow out of their union? He cost them a year of their salary then caved on everythign they stood for. Is LA-4-Life an abbreviated and de-capitalized LaKeR4LiFe?
posted by SummersEve at 06:25 AM on October 05, 2006
Of course, the timing isn't suspect at all.