… not so fast… draftees are forced to play for the the teams that draft them. they are not permitted to join other teams if they find the employment criteria objectionable.

agree otherwise… no questions are ‘illegal’ in the same sense that anyone can sue anyone for anything… neither in itself is meaningful until it is acted upon.

So if this kid came out and reported this (see what I did there?) wouldn’t he be the one getting in trouble?

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Use your head for a few seconds. Do you really think there’d be a law allowing employers to say or do whatever they want in an interview?

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A disabled person cannot adequately perform the job of NFL Player so the law does not apply. If it did, we’d have deaf people in call centers and blind people giving driving test.

If its the Patriots the NFL will shred the evidence.

And alas, yet again, an article regarding the entire NFL League brings out a comment pointing at the Patriots. Must be pretty sad to have nothing but the Patriots on your minds when reading Football News. Get over it Son..move on with your life. P.S. I guarantee you the Patriots were NOT one of the teams to ask that question.

You can ask anyone anything you want during the course of the interview.

However, if you ask a question that is not work related, and possibly could be interpreted as infringing upon a protected category, you open yourself up to exposure (i.e. a lawsuit) if the candidate is not offered the position.

In a prima facia case of discrimination, you would have to prove that you were qualified for the position, that you were discriminated against, and the position remained open after you were disqualified. Then it is up to the defendant to prove that their are justifiable reasons for passing on the candidate.

In the case of the NFL – Teams are limited on the players they can hire – based on the draft. Teams could have plenty of legitimate reasons for passing on certain candidates – better candidates are available at that time, etc.

Not a likely situation to see a successful lawsuit brought here.

nobody cares about this

And because he did this, people are actually castigating him and saying that he’s revealed a character flaw that will hurt his draft chances?

Seems to me, that if you’re the kind of guy who stands up for what he thinks is right, that would be the kind of person I would want on my team. But I guess dumb and clueless is the baseline nowadays for most fans.

With that level of expectation, people are actually surprised when these guys do something idiotic?

@onebucplace – Come on Man!

And Belicheat would ask in a way that would circumvent what is allowed.

So if this kid came out and reported this (see what I did there?) wouldn’t he be the one getting in trouble?

In thirty states it is perfectly legal. So if the team that asked the questions was a franchise like the Falcons or the Cowboys, the team may have violated league policy, but they did not violate the law.

Not that that’s necessarily the case, it’s entirely possible as some have suggested, that the team was merely attempting to determine how he handles himself when questions such as these arise (which they will) during his football career.

My only suggestion is to think a little harder about the questions you throw out there. You can fluster someone without prying into personal information that really has no bearing upon their ability to play the game.

It is “those capable of paying for the privilege should be allowed to say and do as they please, because it is their money that establishes right and wrong.” Does that sound right to you?

But in turn the NFL and its teams are not allowed to ask if a player is gay and so no special accommodations can be provided.

Sounds like a lawyers dream.