Jones' $2M fine stems from threatened litigation over Commissioner Roger Goodell’s new contractGetty Images
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones today will "testify under oath" before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a "proceeding aimed at determining whether and to what extent Jones and the Cowboys owe the NFL and its member clubs reimbursement for legal fees," according to Mike Florio of PRO FOOTBALL TALK. The $2M-plus in fees was incurred in connection with Jones' "threatened litigation over Goodell’s new contract" and RB Ezekiel Elliott's "actual litigation over his six-game suspension." The league office "wants to punish Jones and to make an example of him, in an effort to warn other owners not to behave in similar ways" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 3/4). NFL Net's Judy Battista said that the league's push for recoupment of legal fees from Jones stemming from the Elliott case is "not a Roger Goodell initiative." Battista, appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show" this past Wednesday, said, "The push for this is from the other owners who are not happy with Jerry Jones threatening to sue members of the compensation committee." Battista: "They were not happy with those threats." Asked which owners are pushing for the payment, Battista said, "I was told if you polled the owners, there would probably be 28 or 29 who are in support of this" (DALLASNEWS.com, 3/3).
POWER IS POWER PERCEIVED: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrew Beaton wrote today's hearing is "shaping up as a test of Goodell's ability to mete out discipline to the league's teams." Goodell "essentially has unilateral power in this matter." The idea that he would "reverse course seems unlikely." But some legal experts said that Jones has a "good argument to make in questioning whether he should have to pay up." They added that if Jones "wants to litigate the matter, he would have a strong argument in front of a neutral party" (WSJ.com, 3/4). In Ft. Worth, Clarence Hill writes for Jones, the hearing is "not about the money, but about the principle of things." Jones said that it is "part of doing business in the NFL and his focus has always been on what's best for the NFL" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/5).
WORKPLACE CULTURE: Jones said that the sexual harassment scandal involving the Mavericks and others that have arisen over the last year has his team "more sensitive and attuned to workplace culture." Jones said, "We all need to be very attuned and sensitive to fairness in the workplace. So, to any end that we need to give it more thought, we should and are just simply because of the reminder all over this country that we need to really use our energy and we ought to use our assets to be very equal and fair in the workplace. ... I want to be real clear I'm not commenting about the Mavericks in any way" (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 3/3).
