State Judge To Rule By Aug. 7

Steve Karnowski (AP) reports the Minnesota state judge is set to rule by Aug. 7 whether to put on hold a lawsuit by Minnesota Vikings Kevin Williams and Pat Williams. This is not the only hearing that is scheduled for the Williams’es, as the federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals considers other issues in the complicated case.

NFL attorney Dan Nash asked Judge Gary Larson to put the state court proceedings on hold until the federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals are concluded. The 8th Circuit has scheduled arguments in St. Paul for Aug. 18 and says it may rule before the regular season begins a few weeks later.

The attorney for the Williams’es, Peter Ginsberg, wants Judge Larson to either have his hearing before the season begins, or says the judge should keep his restraining order against the suspensions in place and hold the trial after the season. We don’t expect a final verdict before the season starts.

The Bill of Rights includes the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which grants power to the states to pass laws in areas that are not specifically prohibited to them or assigned elsewhere by the Constitution. Just because a collective bargaining agreement is signed does not mean it can ignore all state laws.

In other words, Kevin and Pat Williams have a strong case. We expect the law to be stronger than the collective bargaining agreement. The “Players are responsible for what is in their bodies!” is probably not going to fly in court.

Shortlink: