In September 2009, former NFL receiver David Givens filed a $25 million lawsuit against the Tennessee Titans, who allegedly withheld medical information from the veteran player and who encouraged him to play despite knowing that his knee no longer could withstand the rigors of pro football.
At the time, we suggested that the lawsuit could be superseded by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players. As it turns out, the NFL made that argument -- and the judge agreed.
Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean reports that the case was dismissed on Wednesday. United States District Judge Todd Campbell ruled that Givens must use the grievance procedures established by the CBA.
“We’ll go to arbitration,’' attorney Dan Warlick said. “We knew ahead of time that this is something that could happen, this wasn’t a surprise. When we filed it that was one of the issues we had to overcome, whether we could get it into federal court without the arbitration. We just thought federal court would be a better place to try.’'
Warlick is right -- it’s always better for a plaintiff to be in a court of law than before an arbitrator, especially if the arbitration is being conducted by the league office.
Judge Campbell never addressed the merits of Givens’ claims, which will now be handled via arbitration. So while Givens might not prevail, he’ll eventually have his day in quasi-court.
