American Football:The NFL's lockout is harming players and fans and is not in the public interest, an American judge has said in a ruling that granted the players's request for an injunction to halt the work stoppage.
Judge Susan Nelson’s order to end the six-week lockout, imposed last month after a breakdown in talks over a new collective deal, is to be appealed by the NFL.
In an 89-page statement, the judge also accepted that the players dissolution of their union was valid and allowed them to act as individuals rather than be constricted by labour bargaining rules.
The judge said in the absence of a collective bargaining process, which ended on March 11th, antitrust policies come to the fore.
The plaintiffs in the case, led by quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, argued they were suffering harm as a result of a lockout that stops them from reporting to work. Noting that NFL players have short careers and can have their playing time cut short by injuries, Nelson supported the view that the lockout was damaging the players.
The judge also said she had to consider whether an injunction would cause more harm to the NFL as a business than the current lockout was inflicting on the players.
"The irreparable harm to the players outweighs any harm an injunction would cause the NFL," stated Nelson. "The NFL's argument that an order of this court enjoining the lockout will cause the league harm because such an order will necessarily expose them to antitrust liability is unpersuasive."