Former Jets coach Bill Belichick "sued" the Jets and
the NFL in U.S. District Court in Newark, NJ, yesterday "to
free himself of his contract" with the team, according to
Gerald Eskenazi of the N.Y. TIMES, who writes that Belichick
"will learn Tuesday whether he can pursue a coaching job"
with another team. Belichick "filed for a restraining
order" against the Jets and the NFL, "both of which contend
he is under a valid contract that prevents him from going to
another team without the Jets' permission." Eskenazi notes
that if Belichick is "successful in obtaining the order,"
the Jets would have ten days to "show why the injunction
should not be permanent." Jets officials and the NFL
declined to comment (N.Y. TIMES, 1/25). In N.Y., Mark
Kriegel writes that Belichick's attorney Jeffrey Kessler
said that the NFL is "guilty of antitrust violations."
Kessler: "The Jets don't want to pay him any money. They
don't want to employ him as a head coach. They simply want
to say, 'We own his rights.'" But Kriegel writes, "The Jets
did want to pay him money. They did want to employ him as a
head coach. There was just one small problem: Belichick
quit" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/25).
ANTITRUST LAWSUIT, PART II? In Boston, Will McDonough
reports that the NFL Coaches Association is "preparing to
file a multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit against the NFL
owners, possibly the first move in intensifying
confrontation between the league's assistant coaches and the
owners." McDonough adds that Kessler "reportedly has been
retained" by the NFLCA. More McDonough: "The coaches' case
against the league will revolve around apparel they have to
wear on the sidelines -- apparel for which the owners get
millions and the coaches get nothing" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25).
