Saintgate - N.F.L. Bounties Could Lead to Lawsuits - NYTimes.com

The New Orleans Saints offered rewards to players whose rough play knocked opposing teams' players out of the game. The implied consent that athletes grant when they play football (being tackled and thrown to the ground) does not include consent to intentional injury. Professional hockey has long been corrupted by the use of "enforcers" - players encouraged to play the role of thugs on the ice. It seems that the NFL may have tolerated similar behaviour. - GWC

N.F.L. Bounties Could Lead to Lawsuits - NYTimes.com: "According to two sports law scholars, the team, Williams and individual players could be held liable in court if an opponent can prove that a member of the Saints injured him on a play that is outside the norm for football and that the Saints player acted with reckless disregard for the opponent’s safety.

“As a general rule, those who participate in sports assume the inherent risk of injury therein,” said Matt Mitten, the director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School. “You break your arm? Suffer concussion? Broken leg? But what most courts have held is you do not assume the risk of an intentional or recklessly caused injury. Contact is an inherent element of N.F.L. football; it’s not enough just to contact someone.

“I would see something as a bounty, where you’re intending to injure someone so he’s knocked out of the game, or reckless, the deliberate disregard of a high probability of harm — those are the types of situations where the courts have said: ‘That’s not a risk that people assume. There is potential liability to those who suffer injury.’ ”"

'via Blog this'