Jul 23, 2008 10:53 pm US/Central
Good Question: What Is Tampering, Did Vikes Do It?
(WCCO)
It's hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without hearing talk of "tampering." The Green Bay Packers are accusing the Minnesota Vikings of tampering, saying the Vikings had improper conversations with Brett Favre. But what is tampering?
In the National Football League, tampering "refers to any interference by a member club with the employer-employee relationship of another club or any attempt by a club to impermissibly induce a person to seek employment with that club or with the NFL," according to Randall Liu, an Information Manager with the NFL.
"It's about fair play and competition," said Lee Hutton, a Minneapolis sports attorney and former University of Minnesota football player. Hutton represents athletes with the Lommen Abdo Law Firm.
"Basically the Packers own his rights. By owning his rights, it prevents other individuals from seeking employment or Brett Favre," said Hutton.
According to published reports, Favre used a cell phone issued by the Packers to call his old friend Darrell Bevell. Bevell is a former Packers coach, currently with the Minnesota Vikings. Favre also is accused of using the phone to talk with Vikings head coach Brad Childress.
"Does one phone call equal tampering, several phone calls?" asked WCCO reporter Jason DeRusha.
"It depends on what was discussed," said Hutton. "Certainly it could have been a phone call to wish happy birthday to an individual and that wouldn't be tampering."
However, Hutton said it does not make a difference if the player initiated the contact or if the team initiated things.
"It depends on the crux of the conversation," he said.
Under Minnesota law, there is recourse for employers who feel competitors are interfering with their employees who are under contract.
According to Minneapolis attorney Morgan Smith, of Smith and Raver LLC, that is called "tortuous interference with contract." An employer would have to prove they "suffered financial loss in order to get anywhere in court," said Smith.
The Favre situation is new for the NFL, because all this happened when he wasn't really a player.
"Once he retired, Favre is not an active player," said Hutton. "By doing so he is technically free to have any conversations with his friends or family that is involved in the NFL."
Hutton said these provisions appear in employee contracts and in an overall NFL policy.
"There's actually a committee that deals with anti-tampering, and that's where the policy comes out of," he said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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