'Misery Is The Company of Lawsuits'

Being sued in any situation can be a dreadful thing. People can be sent to court for practically anything. People who are on the receiving end can possibly be left with nothing if they lose. Lawsuits can occur in any environment - even sport. The industry is so big that lawsuits can be sourced from anything e.g. contractual disputes and sexual harassment.

A story was recently released relaying the news that a mother is suing an player. It's been reported that the player in question is LaMelo Ball. In addition, she is suing the team as well, the Charlotte Hornets (NBA). She is suing because Ball hit her son with his car.

They were attending a fan event where Angell Joseph, the son, wanted an autograph from his "hero." The lawsuit alleges that Ball’s car stopped at a traffic light by the entrance, when fans moved closer to the player’s vehicle to catch a glimpse of him.

Ball “looked directly” into Joseph’s face while he was stood beside his car before speeding away when the light changed, according to the lawsuit. Ball apparently, “operated his vehicle in grossly negligent and reckless manner in that he accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning and struck” Joseph, “severely injuring him.”

The lawsuit says that Joseph sustained severe and painful injuries,” which caused him “great physical pain and mental anguish.” It also says that some of his injuries may be of “permanent nature” and he may “undergo great physical pain and mental anguish for the rest of his life.” McRae is said to have to spend “large sums of money for medical attention” for Joseph.

Ball has not made any public statements about the incident.

A Miami Heat fan took action when they were particularly upset that they went to a game in which the coach decided that game he was going to rest his top players. Essentially, the fan was deprived of seeing world-class talent that he anticipated seeing when he purchased the ticket. Sports is an entertainment industry that would not exist but for fans, this fan actually had a legitimate argument and filed suit. Despite seeming to have a point, this case was later dismissed.

Back in 2005, Memphis Grizzlies fan, Bill Geeslin, was sitting courtside during a home win over the Los Angeles Lakers. At some point during the game, Kobe Bryant took a tumble into the crowd while chasing down a loose ball.

Geeslin allegedly suffered a bruised lung cavity and decided to sue Bryant for “intentionally forearm[ing]” him in the chest, before glaring at him and walking away without apologising. Geeslin was deposed in 2008 but died two months later at the age of 49.

Following Geeslin’s death, his family decided to move forward with the suit, which sought an “amount exceeding $75,000.” It moved slowly through the legal system for another four years before Bryant finally decided to settle out of court in August 2012.

In 2003, a former Manchester United player, Ben Collett, suffered a horrific tackle that resulted in a fractured right leg against Middlesborough. At a hearing in Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson said Collett, now 23, had an "outstanding chance" of becoming a full-time professional if he had not been injured.

Collett joined United's youth academy, aged nine and signed youth contracts, becoming part of the club's winning FA youth cup team in 2003. However, aged 18, and in his first game for the reserves in May 2003, he had his right leg broken in two places in a tackle by Middlesbrough's Gary Smith.

Smith and the club admitted liability for the "negligent" tackle and the judge awarded Collett more than £4.3 million.

In golf, there is a famous case of "PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin." This was a significant case in the realm of sports law and disability rights. Casey Martin, a professional golfer, suffered from a degenerative circulatory disorder that impeded his ability to walk along golf courses. Despite this, Martin had the skill to compete at the highest levels.

The PGA Tour, however, denied his request to use a golf cart during competitions, citing their walking rule as an essential part of the game. Martin sued the PGA Tour under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), asserting that denying him a cart constituted discrimination, based on his disability.

The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled in favour of Martin. The Court held that the ADA applied to the PGA Tour and that allowing Martin to use a cart would not fundamentally alter the nature of the tournaments. The Court reasoned that the ADA was designed to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities and that the PGA Tour's walking rule was not an essential attribute of the game itself.

The decision was significant for its interpretation of the ADA in the context of professional sports. It underscored the principle that access for individuals with disabilities should be provided as long as it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the activity. The ruling was seen as a victory for disability rights, emphasising the need for reasonable accommodations in various spheres of public life.

In horse racing, Lester Piggot was sent to prison for tax fraud. The total was $5.1 million in earnings. The 51-year-old millionaire, who retired as a jockey in 1985 to devote his time to training horses, was also ordered to pay $41,000 in fines and $56,000 in legal costs. He was also stripped of his OBE.

In the NFL, there was a lawsuit filed in 2010 between the New York Jets and New England Patriots. A fan of the Jets sued the New England Patriots. The suit filed on the basis of allegedly videotaping the Jets coaches during a game in 2007. Although the two teams can be considered bitter rivals, this fan was more than upset with the Patriots. He was seeking $185 million dollars. It might not be surprise to learn the suit was later dismissed.

Last fall The Hollywood Reporter reported that the NFL filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A., who infamously flipped the bird during her halftime appearance at Super Bowl XLVI (46). Records at the American Arbitration Association revealed the initial suit was filed in March 2012—18 months after the performance.

Despite the FCC not filing a complaint for the incident, in March 2014, it was revealed that the NFL decided to up the ante and is now seeking $16 million in compensatory damages. M.I.A. took the fight public because, according to her attorney Howard King via Fox Sports, he and his client have “decided not to let the lawsuit live in secrecy because he wants to highlight the NFL’s hypocrisy in filing the suit in the first place.”

Despite the FCC not filing a complaint for the incident, in March 2014, it was revealed that the NFL decided to up the ante and is now seeking $16 million in compensatory damages. M.I.A. took the fight public because, according to her attorney Howard King via Fox Sports, he and his client have “decided not to let the lawsuit live in secrecy because he wants to highlight the NFL’s hypocrisy in filing the suit in the first place.”

In May 2014, a lawsuit that could only be described as absolutely insane was filed against rookie quarterback, Johnny Manziel. The suit, which was (fraudulently) filed on behalf of CNN contributor Samantha Schacher, alleged a lot of private part misbehaviour on the part of Manziel. It was soon discovered to be the case and was dismissed as a hoax

In another NFL matter, a Dallas Cowboys fan claimed to sustain a personal injury at the Dallas Cowboys summer practice. While watching her favourite National Football League team, a woman claimed to severely burn her buttocks from sitting on a very hot bleacher seat. The fan allegedly sustained second-degree burns which required treatment. The fan sued for mental anguish and physical dismemberment. The suit was later dismissed.

In April 2014, San Francisco 49ers fan, Joe E. Williams III, filed a $50 million lawsuit against the NFL with the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The suit accuses the league of conspiring with the Seahawks, Ticketmaster and Washington State officials to enact an “unconstitutional” selective sales policy that amounts to “economic discrimination,” per The Associated Press via ESPN.com.

According to CBS San Francisco, “Tickets to the game were limited to people with billing addresses in: California; Oregon; Montana; Idaho; Alaska; Hawaii and parts of Canada.” Since Williams was in Nevada, he was unable to buy tickets and a few months later, he decided that infringed on his constitutional right to...buy playoff tickets.

For his tremendous suffering, Williams was (and likely still is) seeking $10 million in punitive damages on top of $40 million in real damages.

In December 2013, the Pittsburgh Steelers missed the post season in heartbreaking fashion. Playing on the road in San Diego, they needed the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Chargers in order to make the post season. The game went into overtime and ended with an officiating comedy of errors in which the Chargers wound up on top.

It was a tough break for the Steelers, who were unforgivably bad early in the season and lost at least two games they should have won.

That being said, one fan couldn't accept what happened. According to The Baltimore Sun, a week later, Daniel Spuck filed a motion against the NFL to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, seeking a “temporary emergency injunction” on the grounds that the missed call in Week 17 meant the Chargers shouldn’t be in the playoffs.

In an epic handwritten motion, Spuck, an inmate within the Pennsylvania corrections department, even offered up some possible “remedies” for the missed call, one of which was delaying the start of the playoffs so that the Steelers and Chargers could play at a neutral site to determine who moves on.

In September 2009, The Washington Post reported on a 72-year-old real estate agent and grandmother, Pat Hill, a lifelong Washington Redskins [now Washington Commanders], fan who had season tickets since the early 1960s. That was back "when her daughter danced in the half time shows at the old D.C. Stadium, before it was renamed in memory of Robert F. Kennedy."

Hill’s income took a major hit when the housing market crashed, and she asked the ’Skins to wave her $5,300-per-year contract for two loge seats behind the end zone for a year or two. Seems like a fairly reasonable request.

Instead of reasonably denying Hill’s reasonable request, the team sued her for “backing out of a 10-year ticket-renewal agreement after the first year." The team also sought payments for every season through 2017, plus interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs. She couldn’t afford a lawyer, so the Redskins won a default judgment of $66,364.

During the interview with the Post, Hill was in tears discussing the possibility of bankruptcy and said, “It really breaks my heart. I don’t even believe in bankruptcy. We are supposed to pay our bills. I ain’t trying to get out of anything.”

It’s seems like the only thing the Redskins are good at, on and off the field, is being terrible.

In Ice Hockey, in May 2014, it was reported that Chicago Blackhawks goalie, Corey Crawford, was being investigated over an “assault” a Los Angeles Kings fan claimed he had suffered at Crawford’s hand. It wasn’t really his hand—per TMZ Sports.

Clark Wong filed battery charges against Crawford for allegedly spraying him with a water bottle as he was ejected during the third period of Game 4 against the Kings. As per Fox Sports West, Wong insisted “the water bottle contained backwash and caused serious irritation to his eyes” and claimed he required medical attention.

At this point, a lawsuit has not been filed against Crawford but Wong’s claims seem to be setting the stage for something like that. However, he’ll have a hard time playing the victim in court, considering he was later ejected from the game for taunting.

In May 2012, Pittsburgh Penguins fan, Fred Weiss, filed a class-action complaint against team ownership because he was unhappy with the number of texts he’d received after deliberately signing up for the updates.

According the Consumerist, Weiss, a resident of California, claimed the number of texts sent exceeded the maximum of three alerts per week. And instead of unsubscribing from the text alerts, which he never attempted to do, he decided to sue the Penguins.

The damages Weiss was seeking were unspecified, he’s unlikely to ever see any money on such a bogus claim.
In March 2001, one of the Philadelphia Flyers’ craziest fans climbed into the penalty box to fight Toronto Maple Leafs notorious enforcer, Tie Domi. It was one of the more ill-advised decisions in the history of sports fans making ill-advised decisions.

Christopher Falcone was among the fans at First Union Center who were harassing Domi with verbal taunts but he was the only one with the stones to run the beef up the flagpole. His sweater was pulled up over his head but officials stepped in before things escalated.

That didn’t stop Falcone from escalating things two years later, when he filed a lawsuit against Domi, the Maple Leafs, the NHL and Comcast-Spectator Inc., which owns the Flyers and First Union Center. According to his lawyer (as per ESPN.com), Falcone “suffered a gash on his forehead and ‘got the heck beat out of him, went to the hospital, had not a lot of treatment, but somebody has to pay for it.’”

In October 2012 Louisiana resident David Mancina filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, “seeking damages in excess of $5 million on behalf of himself and 2012-13 New Orleans Saints season-ticket holders,” per The Times-Picayune.

The suit alleged fans purchased tickets “expecting the Saints would be capable of competitively fielding a contending team comprised of the finest athletes and the best coaches, under contract...or available to them through normal trades and draft choices, without dictatorial, unreasonable, vindictive, and unfounded, interference.”

As fantastic and fun as publicly calling out Goodell for being a dictator must have been for Mancina, his dreams of reaping any financial rewards were dashed when a federal judge dismissed the suit in January 2013.

In golf, in 2010, Jason Goodwin wore a ridiculous tiger costume to the TPC Boston tournament; which was supposedly some sort of homage to his favourite player, Tiger Woods. Although he claimed he got “pre-permission” to wear the costume (as per TMZ.com), Goodwin was ejected from the tournament because Angel Cabrera, Tiger’s playing partner, complained it was “too bright and bothersome.”

A year later, Goodwin filed a lawsuit against the PGA in Boston, who had, according to him, infringed upon his civil rights by ejecting him. He sought $7,150 in damages because that was the limit allowed in small-claims court. It’s unclear how the whole thing turned out but Goodwin probably won since it's known dressing up like a tiger at a golf tournament is protected in the Bill of Rights.

In baseball, in June 2014, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered a new trial for a Kansas City Royals fan who was injured by a flying hot dog per (as per an AP report).

John Coomer claims he was injured at a Royals game in 2009 when the mascot threw a wrapped hot dog into the crowd, which hit him in the eye. He filed a lawsuit seeking $20,000-plus in damages.

In an earlier legal proceedings, it was ruled that the team was protected by a legal standard that prevents it from being sued over various fan injuries however, the Supreme Court ruled that a mascot throwing a hot dog was outside the scope of protection.

In July 2014, a comically litigious New York Yankees fan filed an epic $10 million defamation suit against ESPN announcers Dan Shulman and John Kruk. Twenty-six-year-old Andrew Rector was shown slumped over and sleeping, mouth agape, in the stands during a recent game against the Red Sox.

According to The Smoking Gun, “Shulman referred to the sleeping fan as ‘oblivious,’ while Kruk, the network’s color commentator, noted the ballpark was ‘not the place you come to sleep.’ Which are both pretty reasonable observations, given the circumstances.

TSG continues, “In his complaint, which was filed this month in the State Supreme Court in the Bronx, Rector contends that he was subjected to an ‘unending verbal crusade’” by the network’s announcers. The lawsuit also names the Yankees and Major League baseball as defendants.

I take a personal interest in the "PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin." This is because, I, myself am disabled. I suffer from Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy and as such, I believe disabled people should be treated equally and appropriate accomodations should be made available if one requires it. I am under the belief that my disabilities have prevented me from getting opportunities that were presented to me.

As it has been seen, lawsuits can cover almost anything. Most of them are downright ridiculous. Some do have some merit. Some are just made so that the complainant can get some of the limelight. There should be a rule and/or law stating what's legally sueable and what aren't.

Source Material

AP. 1987. Piggott Gets 3 Years for Tax Evasion. The New York Times.

Batty, D. 2008. Manchester United player gets £4.3m for career-ending tackle. The Gaurdian.

Herman & Herman. 2024. Sports lawsuits – believe it or not.

Lee, A. 2014. 20 Strange Sports Lawsuits. Bleacher Report.

Morse, B. 2024. Mother sues NBA star LaMelo Ball for allegedly hitting son with car. CNN.

Reference List

Teacher, Law. (2013). PGA Tour v Martin - Case Summary. [online]. Available from: https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/pga-tour-inc-v-martin-3903.php?vref=1 (Accessed: 25 May 2024).

Bibliography

Beeston Shenton. 2024. The 5 Most Unmissable Sports Law Cases Of All Time. Beeston Shenton.