Who sets & controls the rules in the NFL?

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I am not a big sports person, so may be asking a stupid question.

If the NFL sets a rule, isn't that an internal company type of rule? If they say 'no drugs, no drugs to cover up drug indicators' why do the courts need to be involved with that?

You may have heard of two players for the Vikings, both named Williams who took a weight loss drug which the NFL claims to cover up other drugs. NFL has suspended them for 4 games. A county court has issued a temporary stay on that and a federal court change changed that around.

While I would rather see the Williams Wall playing on Sunday, why does this get to be a court decision on what happens? It is an NFL rule (and they may have been playing with the rules which is part of the issue here) why are the courts involved in it?

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

It is internal and it isn't. But you have issues of labor practice as well as contract law. After all, the player has a contract with the team and the Union has a contract with the league. So a judge could theoretically get involved by ruling that the league's actions are in violation of the collective bargaining agreement or whatever labor law may apply.

I think in this case the judge just ruled that the league can't do anything until he gets more information. So his injunction is really saying "I don't know if there is a violation of the CBA or federal law here so rather than punish the players premaurely while I get more information, the league has to let them play."

Ultimately a judge can pretty much rule on anything they want and let the league win on appeal. After the its almost a moot point since the players will be able to play out the rest of the team's playoff run. They may yet get suspended next year, but the team will have time to plan around it.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The answer to the question asked is the NFL Rules Committee, with approval of the owners.

As for the NFL Drug Policy, that was agreed to by the NFL Management Council and the players association.

It is not uncommon for policies of the workplace to need legal interpretation. Workplace law keeps a lot of lawyers lawyering.