The arbitration was round one. The litigation will be round two. And former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough might be going for a knockout.
Paragraph 90 of the civil complaint filed by McDonough, his wife, and his daughter against Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill and others contains this list of allegations against Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill:
“Bidwill retaliated against McDonough for merely exercising his right to file an arbitration proceeding before Commissioner Goodell.”
“Bidwill hired a public relations firm to dig up dirt on Terry McDonough and to spread lies about Terry and his family.”
“Bidwill and the other Defendants went after McDonough’s family, spreading lies about his wife and daughter.”
“Bidwill admitted that he acted with an intent to harm McDonough and his family.”
“Bidwill repeatedly lied, in sworn testimony, during a deposition.”
“Bidwill repeatedly lied, in sworn testimony, before an Arbitrator duly appointed by Commissioner Goodell.”
“Bidwill admitted to violating the terms of [General Manager Steve] Keim’s suspension.”
“Bidwill admitted to the illicit ‘burner phone’ scheme [for communicating with Keim during his suspension].”
“Bidwill admitted to lying to the public about violating the terms of Keim’s suspension.”
“Bidwill was well aware of Caroline McDonough’s special needs condition, but went out of his way to viciously defame her.”
“Bidwill did all of these things in an effort to deter others from ever speaking the truth before the NFL.”
These are allegations, and Bidwill will have the right to disagree with them. They are nevertheless very strong allegations, which McDonough’s counsel presumably believes are backed up by facts.
If these things are proven, what will the NFL do? Already, an arbitrator has found that Bidwill and the Cardinals reacted to McDonough’s arbitration claim for wrongful discharge by defaming him with false and malicious public statements. The Cardinals have been required to pay McDonough $3 million, $2.25 million of which reflects punitive damages for the team’s behavior.
The NFL has not responded to an email from PFT seeking comment on whether the arbitration award will spark discipline of Bidwill and/or the Cardinals. If the league takes no action, it will once again prove the existence of a double standard when it comes to the treatment of players and the treatment of owners, and regarding the treatment of some teams that break the rules and others.
Here, there are two separate issues. One, the defamation of McDonough. Two, the violation of the terms of the Keim suspension. Both are already clear, based on the 56-page arbitration ruling. Through the new litigation, they will only become more obvious.