Saturday's Notebook: Spinning the Williams Wall Setback

that the William’s don’t drag this thing out too long. If they are going to be out, that will suck. But I would rather have them out the first 4 weeks of the year, rather than in the middle of the season.

Plead the case in June, if they lose, they sit the first 4 games. Do not appeal, Goodell’s a dick, just get it over with. Lets not forget that EJ’s back. Our D will be alright.

That is another guy who I haven’t made up my mind over, as far as football is concerned. He grew into a decent QB who was pretty good at hitting his targets, and could come through in clutch situations. Personally, I am hoping that Sage or TJ works out.

As for the dog-fighting part, I think that Vick was caught up in the immature stage that most young men have to go through to make themselves feel tough (the peacock stage). I don’t think he even thought about the suffering that he caused the animals. I had a troop once who was into dog-fighting, until I showed him a DVD that took all the glamour out of dog-fighting and showed what happens to the losing dogs. He is now quite the anti-dogfighting advocate. Folks can change once they are shown the full picture. Beyond that, Vick paid his dues in prison, so his debt to society over animal-abuse has been paid. Let the man play.

Collective bargaining agreements between management and employees supersede most "common-law claims," which is the name given to legal theories developed and refined by courts through the resolution of specific disputes over a period of many years. However, a CBA cannot overcome clear rights given to employees through statutes enacted by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor.

In Minnesota, Kevin and Pat Williams have two separate statutory claims that will be sent back to Minnesota state court (where the judges are elected by the local citizens, most of whom are Vikings fans).

One claim arises under the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act. As explained by Judge Magnuson, this law confines employee drug testing in Minnesota to the specific procedures permitted by the law itself. In other words, any testing or discipline not permitted by the law is not permitted.

As further explained by Judge Magnuson, the law prohibits employers from imposing discipline based on a single positive test.

They Tested Positive only once.

and

On the surface, then, it appears that the players still have a pretty good argument for avoiding a four-game suspension for an initial positive test.

Also, the Minnesota Consumable Products Act prohibits employers from taking action against employees who have "engaged in the use or enjoyment of lawful consumable products, if the use or enjoyment takes place off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours."

In English, this means that Vikings players are entitled, per Minnesota statutory law, to consume away from the workplace and on their own time any supplements sold legally and lawfully. The fact that the U.S. government has done a traditionally dreadful job of regulating the supplement industry is not something for which Vikings players or other Minnesota employees are responsible. Under the Consumable Products Act, employees are entitled to consume on their own time and off the employer’s premises anything that can be legally purchased.

I’ll quote my supervising attorney from back when I was a young associate:

“You always, always, always want to be in YOUR state’s court if you are on the defense. You dont want to be in federal court and you certainly dont want to end up in a far flung Jurisdiction. It may not seem like much but it is huge.”

Bottom line – your defense is always best on its home turf……er dome.

Do not think that the Williams Wall has wasted its time going to federal court on this matter.

The NFL has opted out of the salary cap agreement, but they want to renegotiate it. The players union has exposed to the public that the NFL steroids policy, while not illegal in some states, is flawed. The union has demonstrated by its taking this to court that it would like to see that part of the CBA revised. Getting the process improved is not a waste of time.

a great opportunity for Letroy Guion. Not that I don’t want the Williams in there. LG was projected to be a high pick had he stayed in school. He is still very young and now he will get some extra reps in the pre-season and some good experience if the suspensions are upheld. Depending if the kid gets some good weight on he might be ready to fill a hole Pat may leave in a couple year.
Trying to be a cup half full guy here.