MLB has argued in court that it "cannot be held liable in a lawsuit filed by a woman whose husband fell to his death" during a Braves game at Turner Field in '15. The lawsuit contends that the man "would not have died if the railing had been taller, and her litigation accuses the Braves and MLB of negligence." MLB's lawyer JASON SCRIBNER yesterday contended that the league "should not be a defendant in the case because it exerted no control" over the ballpark. A lawyer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV asked Judge JOHN MATHER "not to rule on MLB’s request before determining whether documents that had been deemed 'highly confidential' should continue to be kept from public view" (ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION, 7/31).
LAW & ORDER: The Cowboys are being sued by a man who claims that the team "interfered with the Frisco Police Department's investigation into a traffic accident after his car was struck" by Cowboys RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT. The lawsuit says that Cowboys employees "tried to influence the investigation of a crash and mask its severity to ensure Elliott didn't miss a game." RONNIE BARNARD HILL is seeking at least $20M. Before "including the Cowboys in the lawsuit," Hill had sought $1M from Elliott (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/31). The accident occurred four days before the Packers-Cowboys NFC Divisional Round matchup in January '17 (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/31).
GROWING THE GAME: The Rangers have announced their sponsorship of Junior Rangers Girls Hockey, with U.S. women's hockey player AMANDA KESSEL as its "official ambassador." A collection of 13 rinks across the Tri-State area "agreed to host youth hockey programs and a recreational league for girls ages 14 and under." Rangers Owner JAMES DOLAN has a "wish for the franchise to be more involved with programs like this one," and there has been a "recent push in promoting women’s sports" throughout the industry (N.Y. POST, 7/28).
NAMES: FirstEnergy Stadium will unveil a statue of Pro Football HOFer OTTO GRAHAM on the NFL's opening weekend. Graham will join JIM BROWN as the "two players honored with statues outside the stadium" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 7/31)....The Titans yesterday made “donations totaling nearly” $500,000 to their players’ and coaches’ favorite charities (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/31)....Bills RB LESEAN MCCOY “paid $55,000 to a Philadelphia police officer after an arbitrator ruled that McCoy and another man injured the cop during a brawl at an Old City nightclub” in ’16 (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/31)....Former NFLer DONALD DRIVER will bring his Driven Elite training business to Wisconsin to “run the fitness programs in the Milwaukee Athletic Club when it reopens next year” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/30)....In the ‘70s, WNBA Las Vegas Aces coach BILL LAIMBEER “spent a season” acting on the “hit television show ‘LAND OF THE LOST.’” Former cast members KATHY COLEMAN and WESLEY EURE came to the Aces’ shootaround yesterday and “surprised Laimbeer and the team.” The two were “in town for a convention that starts” today (AP, 7/31).
