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Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon
There is no doubt that the NFL is big and powerful. However saying they have legal clout is contradicted by the facts. Just about every time they are in a courtroom, they lose. Tell me the last major court case the NFL won...
The way to get an expedited hearing is to convince the court that some kind of irreparable harm would be done if the expedited hearing were not granted. If Clarett had lost, it would have been his lawyers asking for the expedited schedule because without an appeal he would miss out on the draft in april and he would never get back the year he would have to wait until next year's draft. Well, the NFL can use the same argument that without an appeal being heard there is the potential for irreparable harm to their draft system.
So the court will hear the case and it may or may not issue a ruling prior to the draft. If the NFL loses here, it can postpone the draft while it tries to appeal to the Supreme Court. Just becaue the draft is scheudled for april at the moment does not mean the NFL can't postpone it. And if Clarett loses, his lawyers will and for an injunction preventing the NFL from holding its draft until the Clarett side can seek an apeal in the Supreme Court.
This case is not over yet. And that has nothing at all to do with the NFL's "influence over the court system".
I'm still waiting to hear the last major court case the NFL won...
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Excellent point. If the league had as much legal clout as the previous poster implied, Al Davis wouldn't kick their butts down the courthouse steps every two weeks.
The league may or may not win this one, I think the court's willingness to expedite the hearing has more to do with respect for continuity within the league. If the draft occurs and then the league wins, is the ruling rendered moot by the fact that Williams and Clarett are in the league? Are these two the only players who will be allowed to circumvent the rule? Is the entire draft invalid? If so, will the Vikings get their pick in on time during the second draft?