Attorney Theodore Olson filed a letter today with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the players in the case of Brady v. the NFL. The letter provided details on the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914.
The Clayton Act followed the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, and provided more specifics including what types of conducts were prohibited, provided a three-level enforcement scheme, and identified remedial measures that could be implemented.
The Court asked about the legislative history of the Clayton Act at the hearing last Friday.
The NFL players want to play and won that right briefly in a decision by District Court Judge Susan Nelson. League owners quickly appealed and the lockout was put back in place after a brief reprieve.
At oral argument, Olson said, “This is an antitrust case. The league desparately wants players to be a union, so they can violate antitrust laws.”
