Comments on: The Ump Who Sued Lou Piniella (And Other Baseball-Related Legal Disputes)

By: someguy

someguy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:17:38 +0000

It should be noted that the Yankees had this no policy in place before the incident took place, and while I feel the policy is ridiculous, I believe the ‘victim’ here is an admitted Red Sox fan, and the incident took place during a Yankees Red Sox game. So I think this guy knew what he was doing

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:31:24 +0000

Flood’s lawsuit did nothing for free agency and the reserve clause still exists. Most labor agreements in any industry have a reserve clause of some sort. In 1975, the reserve clause itself didn’t fall, what was challenged was what the meaning of said clause. The owners said it meant one thing, the players said it meant another thing and the arbitrator sided with the players. That is what put in motion the wheels that led to the free agency we know today. Flood’s lawsuit was mainly about a player being able to have a say in where he played, which I guess indirectly led to free agency, but he lost his case and the players did not gain anything in particular as a direct result of Flood’s case. He did put the idea out there that the system could be challenged, it just took another 3-4 years for the players to find the right way to challenge it.

By: CF69

CF69 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:16:42 +0000

I still don’t understand how Flood’s lawsuit paved the way for free agency. As noted above, that came about as a result of arbitration, which had nothing to do with Curt Flood, and everything to do with Marvin Miller.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:41:20 +0000

They don’t prevent people from leaving their seats during God Bless America anymore…I, along with probably thousands of people, went to the bathroom during it at a game a few weeks ago. I remember noticing how many people were getting up.

Never mind that the cops never tried to stop anyone wandering the stadium while the song was being played; my dad would always leave his seat at the top of the seventh to avoid the song.

By: jeremiah

jeremiah — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:15:06 +0000

almost….. I bet you are right about the fan being rowdy BUT “if not but for” it is a real defense in criminal court, basically if it weren’t for this, then that would not have happened… the same could be said in this case… if it weren’t for the cop illegally stopping and detaining someone because they didn’t want to listen to a song (patriotic or not) and go pee, then this guy would not have been upset and this incident would not have happened…. even if they pressed charges on this guy, they would never stick due the fact that the cop illegally detained him.

By: Pablo

Pablo — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:56:49 +0000

Couldn’t be more wrong, almost. This is a famous case that baseball fans love to bring up to make fun of the Yankees. During God Bless America, they pull chains around the exits for each aisle to prevent people from leaving. As if God Bless America, or any song, is some sacred anthem that means anything.

By: almost

almost — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:19:03 +0000

I remember reading about that ACLU case, and I’m pretty sure I read that the police report said the fan was detained for rowdy/unruly behavior, not for simply refusing to respect GBA.

I could be wrong, but if anyone’s been to Yankee Stadium you know it’s just a little bit more than possible that the guy was being rowdy.

By: ee the c

ee the c — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:12:59 +0000

i think anyone who thinks that making fun of a recently stillborn child is fair game for heckling deserves more than a broken nose.

banyans deode

By: OnlineLegalNews

OnlineLegalNews — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:12:27 +0000

Ethan–btw, see this post I did earlier in the month…baseball & litigation make a perfect team LOL! I’m heading back to post a link to yours; http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/blog/baseball-lawsuit-round-up.html

By: OnlineLegalNews

OnlineLegalNews — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:04:05 +0000

Ok, you absolutely have to add Alfred Rava’s little legal whine to this; ie, when he didn’t get a floppy hat hand-out at the Mother’s Day/breast cancer awareness day promo at an Oakland A’s game last year… Loved your post!