BOSTON // A group of New England Patriots fans have sued the NFL in an effort to recover the first-round draft pick taken from the team as punishment for the "Deflategate" scandal.
The seven fans include a season ticket holder from Connecticut who said the scandal has left his 7-year-old daughter disillusioned and a Florida man who said the NFL’s sanctions have caused him stress and lost sleep.
The complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston says the NFL made an “arbitrary and capricious” decision to revoke the pick in this month’s draft even though there is no proof the team deliberately deflated footballs in the Jan. 18, 2015, AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Read more:
[ Recent NFL punishments set the stage for Deflategate probe ]
[ New England Patriots fined, Tom Brady suspended over ‘Deflategate’ ]
The complaint alleges, among other things, common law fraud, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and racketeering.
The NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Robert Kraft are named as defendants.
The Patriots and league declined to comment Wednesday.
The complaint says the league and Goodell relied on “false premises and biased ‘investigations”’ in handing down punishment, which also included a $1 million fine and a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady. Brady’s suspension remains under appeal.
The suit criticizes Kraft for not fighting the league’s punishments harder.
“Defendant Robert Kraft had remedies to attempt to get plaintiffs’ draft pick back, but he chose his fellow billionaire owners above the plaintiffs and fellow fans,” the suit said.
Sports law experts tell The Boston Herald the suit is a Hail Mary because fans don’t have standing in the matter.
“Paying for a ticket to watch the Patriots play isn’t interfered with by the team losing a draft pick or two,” said Michael McCann, a sports law professor at the University of New Hampshire Law School.
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45+3')
Southampton 0
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Barbie
Director: Greta Gerwig
Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera
Rating: 4/5
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
All The Light We Cannot See
Creator: Steven Knight
Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Aria Mia Loberti
Rating: 1/5
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
'Midnights'
Artist: Taylor Swift
Label: Republic Records
Rating: 4/5
Results
Stage 7:
1. Adam Yates (GBR) UAE Team Emirates – 3hrs 29min 42ses
2. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step – 10sec
3. Geoffrey Bouchard (FRA) AG2R Citroen Team – 42sec
General Classification:
1. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step
2. Lucas Plapp (AUS) Ineos Grenaders – 59se
3. Adam Yates (GBR) UAE Team Emirates –60sec
Red Jersey (General Classification): Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step
Green Jersey (Points Classification): Tim Merlier (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step
White Jersey (Young Rider Classification): Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step
Black Jersey (Intermediate Sprint Classification): Edward Planckaert (FRA) Alpecin-Deceuninck
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
More from Neighbourhood Watch
WISH
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Stars: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
