Tom Brady and nine other players filed suit against the NFL right after the union de-certified to attempt to win an injunction to block the lockout. Today they filed arguments in support of their claim. Among other things, the players claim that the owners are doing them "irreparable harm" by barring them from offseason workouts and delaying the free agency period.
"The offseason is the time when players compete to try to find a team, make a roster, establish themselves as starting players, demonstrate they can overcome injuries or otherwise prove themselves. To do this, they need the opportunity to sign with the right team, begin offseason workouts, learn the team’s system and compete before training camp begins. Absent immediate injunctive relief, it will be impossible to turn back the clock or quantify in damages these lost opportunities."
In addition, the players responded to the NFL's claims that the union's decertification is a "sham" and that the owners had actually agreed to allow the players to take this step in 1993.
"NFL owners agreed as part of the Reggie White Settlement back in 1993 that the players could end the NFLPA's status as a union when the CBA expired, and that if the players did so, the owners could not claim that such action was just a "sham" or that the NFLPA still remained as a union after expiration. Despite this agreement, the owners are now saying just that-that the players' vote to end the bargaining status of the NFLPA was just a "sham"-thereby reneging on their original agreement and arguing that this is a legal defense for their unlawful lockout."
The owners of course deny the claims.
"There are no surprises or arguments we did not expect (in the memorandum)," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday night in a statement released via Twitter. "The union's lawyers still fail to come to terms with the jurisdictional principles that bar an injunction in this case."