12-01-2023, 12:56 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-05-2023, 02:52 PM by DL14. Edited 2 times in total.)
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER YET AND STILL A STUDENT. THIS IS BY NO MEANS LEGAL ADVICE NOR SHOULD IT BE REGARDED AS SUCH FROM A PROFESSIONAL. THIS IS SIMPLY ME STATING MY THOUGHTS AND RELATING IT TO WHAT I HAVE LEARNED.
With that out of the way howdy everyone, AJ here and today we are going to be discussing why you can't sue each other while playing football. Additionally, I will speak briefly about a certain situation where there could have been legal action in my unprofessional opinion.
In the class torts one of the defenses, we have learned is the assumption of risk defense. A tort is simply a wrongdoing against another person. So, this is not related to criminal charges. Football is undoubtedly an aggressive sport, between the battles in the trenches, the one-on-one WR/CB clashes, and of course the hits there is a lot of action that takes place. That being said, players give up their right to sue each other and the teams their opponent plays for via respondeat superior (boss is liable for employee's actions on the job) due to the "Assumption of Risk Defense" to bringing about a tort in suit. For the defense to take place, the defendant must 1. Show that the plaintiff voluntarily acted. 2. With knowledge of the risks. 3. And did so reasonably. The standard rule at hand is that you assume all risks unless conduct is way outside the range of "ordinary activity". Taking that into mind here is how that applies to football (and many other sports). Another player will obviously be playing voluntarily, meeting the first element. Any football player knows the game is a physical game, so they are well aware of the risks. Finally, doing so reasonably is participating in the game due to the fact that they get paid, therefore justifying playing in the game. The only time when a player could bring a suit is when the conduct is outside the range of "ordinary activity". The example I would bring here is Myles Garrett attacking the player on the Steelers with the other player's own helmet. While there is contact with equipment between players taking another player's equipment and further attacking them with said equipment that they are no longer wearing to protect themselves is outside of the range of "ordinary activity". So once again in my UNPROFESSIONAL AND UNLISCENED opinion I think that Myles Garrett could have been taken to civil court on this incident.
WORD COUNT: 408
With that out of the way howdy everyone, AJ here and today we are going to be discussing why you can't sue each other while playing football. Additionally, I will speak briefly about a certain situation where there could have been legal action in my unprofessional opinion.
In the class torts one of the defenses, we have learned is the assumption of risk defense. A tort is simply a wrongdoing against another person. So, this is not related to criminal charges. Football is undoubtedly an aggressive sport, between the battles in the trenches, the one-on-one WR/CB clashes, and of course the hits there is a lot of action that takes place. That being said, players give up their right to sue each other and the teams their opponent plays for via respondeat superior (boss is liable for employee's actions on the job) due to the "Assumption of Risk Defense" to bringing about a tort in suit. For the defense to take place, the defendant must 1. Show that the plaintiff voluntarily acted. 2. With knowledge of the risks. 3. And did so reasonably. The standard rule at hand is that you assume all risks unless conduct is way outside the range of "ordinary activity". Taking that into mind here is how that applies to football (and many other sports). Another player will obviously be playing voluntarily, meeting the first element. Any football player knows the game is a physical game, so they are well aware of the risks. Finally, doing so reasonably is participating in the game due to the fact that they get paid, therefore justifying playing in the game. The only time when a player could bring a suit is when the conduct is outside the range of "ordinary activity". The example I would bring here is Myles Garrett attacking the player on the Steelers with the other player's own helmet. While there is contact with equipment between players taking another player's equipment and further attacking them with said equipment that they are no longer wearing to protect themselves is outside of the range of "ordinary activity". So once again in my UNPROFESSIONAL AND UNLISCENED opinion I think that Myles Garrett could have been taken to civil court on this incident.
WORD COUNT: 408
DA CHOP