Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News reports new NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith during his pre-election presentation to players last week, and again in his first post-election news conference, brought up the possibility of asking Congress to examine the league’s tax-exempt status and its limited antitrust exemption if the owners don’t bargain in good faith in upcoming negotiations for a new labor deal.
The owners are smart enough to know this was no idle threat. Smith is a partner in the powerful Washington law firm Patton Boggs and has ties to the Obama administration. He once worked with new U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.