ATTORNEY’S NAME Attorney for Defendant
Identification No.
ADRESS
Philadelphia Eagles COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
PHILADELPHIA COUNTY
Vs. DATE
Samuel Murray
MURRAY’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW
SUMMARY
1. Philadelphia Eagles’ complaint states:
Samuel Murray, a practice squad player with Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL league, has committed several violations with regard to his contract with the team.
2. The NFL is known for arbitrarily slapping bans on players. They are very reckless in their actions. Tom Brady vs. NFL (2015)
3. The first incident occurred at solstice club. His wife found him getting cozy with the exotic dances. An altercation ensued which resulted in his wife slapping him. He then reacted causing physical injury to the wife.
4. The wife calls the police, but decides not to file any lawsuit, and they apologize to each other. However, club solstice has security cameras that captured the incident. ZMT buys the video footage from solstice club and posts it online. It goes viral.
5. A second incident occurs whereby reports arise in newspapers that Murray was seen in the sports gambling area. Usually, this is not an issue because Murray takes an interest in gambling. However, Philadelphia Eagles are concerned that the incident will generate negative publicity on the already tarnished image of the NFL.
6. Murray assures the public and the team that he would never place a bet on
Football, especially on his team. Nevertheless, the Eagles still want to impose a fine on him due to his casino and clubbing activities. Furthermore, if Murray cannot change his habits, his team would have to suspend him.
7. The NFL seems to only be concerned about its image and not about the dignity of their Players. A testimony of this can be seen in the Concussions lawsuits (2015)
8. The third incident occurred in the same nightclub in which the first one occurred. As he was leaving the club in the wee hours of the morning to get into his Ferrari, he was attacked by an assailant. Murray then drew his unlicensed gun and started firing at the attacker. Since he had no prior training on gun use, all the shots he fired missed the target. But nevertheless, he was able to scare the assailant away. When the police arrived, he was arrested for possessing and discharging an illegal firearm. Murray undergoes a drug test and tests positive for contraband narcotics. He, however, claims that his drinks were laced.
Analysis
Philadelphia Eagles are planning on taking actions against Samuel Murray. Their main claim is that he has violated the terms of his contract with the team. To add on to this, both the team and the NFL claim that he has further tarnished the image of the game which already has a negative reputation. The NFL commissioner even claims that domestic violence and sexual assault is not acceptable by the NFL.
Taking a closer look at the situation, we find that the matter was only a case of domestic violence and not sexual assault. The NFL was, therefore, overblowing the situation. The incident between Murray and his wife was a domestic incident that did not require such public attention. Even though they had a fight that resulted in physical abuse of the wife, both of them were able to discuss it out and find a solution. They even apologized to each other. If at all there are to be any charges made, then it should have been done by the wife. But the wife had already decided not to press any charges. The player contract that Murray signed mostly addresses issues to do with publicity whereby his name, image or signature can be used for commercial purposes by the club. Concerning the integrity of the game, the contract stipulates that he should not participate in any match-fixing activity. Therefore, issues of personal relationships should be left out in this case.
When the newspaper reports came out about his gambling activates, the club did not carry out any further investigations into the matter. They only relied on newspaper reports and not any other credible sources. When Murray explained himself, they refused to believe him. One question that lingers is what evidence do they have indicating that Murray was indeed lying? Do they have evidence that he actually betted on the team or even betted at all? This shows that the team jumps to conclusions without proper investigation.
This situation is reminiscent of the case of Tom Brady vs. the NFL. Tom Brady was given a four-match ban by the NFL for non-cooperation with the NFL investigations. However, he claimed that his suspension violated binding verdicts from the Adrian Peterson lawsuit earlier in the year. It gave the back of the hand to the basic indiscriminate principles regarding practical fairness as well as arbitrator bias. He sought to have his ban overturned on the basis that the arbitrating commissioner was greatly biased. Furthermore, Brady was not given any notice on the intensity of his punishments. Eventually, his ban was overturned by the courts.
The following case shows that the NFL does not give many thoughts about the welfare of the players. Another case is the Concussion lawsuits. These are lawsuits that have been filed against the NFL on behalf of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or have died from traumatic injuries. The lawyers argued that the players’ families need financial awards for the treatment and compensation of the players. This deal was eventually approved by U.S District Judge Anita Brody after sending it back twice to lawyers on concerns that funds might get depleted. The approval would cost the NFL $1 billion in the settlement.
Concerning the use of the firearm. Though it was being possessed illegally, Murray only used it in self-defense. The case would have been much worse if he had used it to commit a crime. Therefore, in my opinion, I believe that the police should just have slapped him with a fine. Thereafter they could have reposed the weapon. About the drug use case. There was no further investigation as to whether Murray intentionally took the drugs or his drinks were laced
Conclusion
Defendant Murray respectfully requests this Honorable Arbitration Panel to find in favor of him for Philadelphia Eagle’s failure to prove that Murray had indeed breached the terms of his contract and tarnished his club’s image.
References
H2o.law.harvard.edu,. (2011). Leonard v. Pepsico Inc.. Retrieved 24 February 2016, from https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/cases/3508
Richman, B., & Schmelzer, D. When Money Grew on Trees: Lucy v. Zehmer and Contracting in a Boom Market. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1754780
Usa today,.(2016). Judge approves potential $1 billion settlement to resolve NFL concussion lawsuits. Retrieved 24 February 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/04/22/nfl-concussion-lawsuit-settlement-judge-1-billion/26192827/
Volin, B. (2015). Tom Brady files lawsuit against the NFL - The Boston Globe.BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016, from https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/07/29/tom-brady-files-lawsuit-against-nfl/h8xeRXAKRSWx93RCnAFk2L/story.ht
West.net,. (2010). Lucy v. Zehmer. Retrieved 24 February 2016, from http://www.west.net/~smith/Lucy_v_Zehmer.htm
