As we continue to review the documents filed Friday in the case of Tom Brady et al. v. The National Football League et al., we continue to look for ways to justify delaying a comprehensive breakdown of the nuances of the claims and the legal mumbo-jumbo. (We’ll get to it eventually -- what the hell else do we have to write about?)
Here’s an interesting tidbit for those of you not yet inclined to delve into the legalese. Vann McElroy has a curious connection to the Brady case and its predecessor, the Reggie White antitrust litigation.
The White case, filed more than 20 years ago, officially ended on Friday night at midnight, with the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which sprang from the settlement agreement in the White lawsuit.
In the White case, there were five named plaintiffs: Reggie White, Michael Buck, Hardy Nickerson, Dave Duerson, and Vann McElroy.
McElroy, a two-time Pro Bowler who spent most of his career with the Raiders, now works as a sports agent. And two of his clients, Vikings defensive end Brian Robison and Vikings linebacker Ben Leber, are named plaintiffs in the Brady case. With the first wave of legal documents filed in the Brady case, McElroy and every other agent for the named plaintiffs submitted signed “declarations” (i.e., an affidavit without notarization, permissible in federal litigation) stating various facts on which the plaintiffs rely in support of the motion for preliminary injunction (i.e., the effort to block the lockout while the litigation is pending).
McElroy’s connection to the prior case has no impact on the current case. It just makes us wonder which of the current plaintiffs will be representing a future plaintiff when this all hits the fan again in 20 years or so.