The NFL is "not at all pleased" with DC WTTG-Fox
sportscaster Brett Haber because his Monday TV report
contained details from a closed door session between NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the league's Finance
Committee, according to Leonard Shapiro of the WASHINGTON
POST. Haber claims he was sitting in a hallway at the AZ
Biltmore Hotel preparing his notes when he heard Tagliabue
discussing the Howard Milstein-Daniel Snyder group's bid to
buy the Redskins through closed doors. Haber: "He was
speaking loudly. Once I realized it was him, my ears perked
up and I listened to what he said." That night, after
consulting with station officials and attorneys, Haber "went
on the air to report what he heard." The report said that
Tagliabue "wanted the finance committee to be careful about
what they said before Milstein and Snyder came to address
them lest it be used in legal action later." When the NFL
heard about the report, it became upset with Haber "and let
him know about it the next day." The league claims Haber
was sitting in an area that was marked as being off-limits
to the media and that he "had to know it." An "NFL
Authorized Personnel Only" sign was posted in the entrance
to a hallway where Haber said he was sitting. But Haber
says he was in an area of public access and no security, and
that "other crews had access to it every day." A league
spokesperson declined to comment (WASHINGTON POST, 3/19).
For more on the Redskins and NFL, see story (#14).
