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SPORTS Friday 5 august 2022
Judge shortens road to decide NFL racial discrimination suit

By LARRY NEUMEISTER a valid agreement to ar-
Associated Press bitrate, whether one party
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has failed to perform its du-
on Thursday made it likely ties under that agreement,
she’ll rule in weeks rath- and whether the agree-
er than months whether ment, properly interpreted,
NFL Commissioner Roger encompasses the dispute
Goodell gets to decide at hand.”
the merits of racial dis- Attorneys Douglas H. Wig-
crimination claims made dor and John Elefterakis,
by Black coaches against representing Flores, said in
the league and its teams, a statement that they are
saying an effort to gather “confident that we will de-
more evidence seems like feat the efforts of the NFL
“an impermissible fishing to move this matter into a
expedition.” private and confidential
U.S. District Judge Valer- arbitration behind closed
ie Caproni said in a writ- doors.” “It is obvious that
ten ruling that lawyers for the NFL is trying to hide
coaches Brian Flores, Steve behind this process and
Wilks and Ray Horton can- avoid public scrutiny of the
not gather additional evi- Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant Brian Flores, right, watches as the team goes racial discrimination and
dence from defendants through drills during an NFL football practice on May 31, 2022, in Pittsburgh. retaliation claims we have
to support their arguments Associated Press brought.
that the lawsuit in Manhat- If they are confident in
tan federal court should impermissible fishing expe- January as head coach to the terms laid out in em- their defenses, they should
remain in court rather than dition,” Caproni wrote. of the Miami Dolphins and ployment contracts and let the process play out in
be sent to arbitration. Still, the judge said lawyers is now an assistant coach the NFL’s constitution. court so the general public
Her ruling makes it likely for the coaches may well with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Caproni wrote that courts can see,” the lawyers said.
that a decision on whether be able to argue that the filed the lawsuit in Febru- have not historically al- In Thursday’s ruling, Capro-
to move the case to ar- proposed arbitrator is so ary, saying the league was lowed lawyers to gather ni instructed lawyers for the
bitration or let it remain in biased against them that “rife with racism” even as it evidence prior to deciding coaches to submit written
Manhattan federal court the motion to compel ar- publicly condemns it. The whether a case is required arguments against arbitra-
will be decided in weeks bitration should not be other coaches later joined to go to arbitration. tion by Aug. 19 and told
rather than months. granted, but they do not the lawsuit, which sought “An agreement to arbitrate the NFL and its teams to re-
“Because Plaintiffs should need discovery to do so. unspecified damages and is binding on the parties un- spond by Aug. 26. Her de-
know whether they entered In legal cases, “discovery” class-action status. less the agreement is in- cision came just days after
into any other contracts or references evidence such The NFL and six of its teams valid under state contract the NFL released the results
agreements that would af- as emails and text mes- say the lawsuit they main- law,” she wrote. “Thus, on of its investigation into alle-
fect their agreement to ar- sages that lawyers try to tain is “without merit” is re- a motion to compel arbi- gations by Flores that Dol-
bitrate, the Court can only get from their opponents to quired to go to arbitration, tration, the Court’s analysis phins owner Stephen Ross
assume that they are at- strengthen their arguments. where Goodell would be is generally limited to de- offered $100,000 a game
tempting to embark on an Flores, who was fired in the arbitrator, according termining whether there is to purposely lose games.q

Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic pulls out of Montreal tournament

MONTREAL (AP) — Novak Open, where he lost in any room for me to travel
Djokovic withdrew from the quarterfinals to Rafael to US. Fingers crossed!”
the upcoming hard-court Nadal, and at Wimbledon, After beating Nick Kyrgios
tournament in Montreal on which Djokovic won last in the Wimbledon final on
Thursday because he is not month for his 21st Grand July 10, Djokovic said he
vaccinated against CO- Slam title one behind the “would love” to partici-
VID-19 and is therefore not men’s record held by Nad- pate in the last Grand Slam
allowed to enter Canada. al. Unvaccinated foreign tournament of the year at
By the same reason, as citizens can’t go to Cana- Flushing Meadows, but also
things stand now, he also da or the U.S, so Djokovic acknowledged, “I’m not
will not be able to com- pulled out of Montreal a planning to get vaccinat-
pete in the U.S. Open later day before the draw is ed.”
this month. scheduled to take place Djokovic is a three-time
Djokovic, a 35-year-old for the tournament and is champion at the U.S. Open.
from Serbia, has said he expected to have to sit out His loss to Daniil Medvedev
won’t get the shots, even the U.S. Open, which starts in last year’s final there pre-
if that means he can’t go in New York on Aug. 29. vented Djokovic from be- Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, wipes the sweat off during a training
to certain tournaments. He Last weekend, Djokovic coming the first man since session at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid,
Spain, on April 30, 2022.
missed the Australian Open posted on social media that Rod Laver in 1969 to win a Associated Press
in January after being de- he was holding out hope of calendar-year Grand Slam.
ported from that country getting the chance to play Oscar Otte also withdrew to three-time major cham- Wimbledon before the
and needed to sit out two in the U.S. Open, writing: “I from Montreal on Thursday; pion Andy Murray, David semifinals because of a
events in the United States am preparing as if I will be Kyrgios and Benjamin Bonzi Goffin, Vasek Pospisil and torn abdominal muscle,
earlier this year. allowed to compete, while moved into the bracket. Alexis Galarneau. is still scheduled to play in
He did play in the French I await to hear if there is Four wild-card berths went Nadal, who pulled out of Montreal.q