New Case of Aaron Hernandez

After the authorities arrested former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez for killing Odin Lloyd in June 2013, the team swiftly terminated a big-money contract Hernandez had inked the prior August.  In October, Hernandez filed a grievance seeking payment of fully guaranteed money along with the final $3.25 million installment of his $12.5 million signing bonus.

With Hernandez now accused of killing two men more than a month before signing the contract, an interesting question arises.  Does the fact that Hernandez allegedly (or, based on the outcome of the trial, actually) gunned down two men before signing the contract enhance the team’s case?

Probably not, based on the relevant language of the labor deal.  The biggest problem for the Patriots flows from the fact that they cut Hernandez.  If they’d kept Hernandez during an inevitable league-imposed suspension, the Patriots eventually could have recovered $10 million in signing bonus money at the rate of $2.5 million per year from 2014 through 2017.  By cutting him, the Patriots arguably have waived the ability to claim that Hernandez has forfeited any of his signing bonus money.

But, as they saw in the legal profession, bad facts make bad law.  The extreme circumstances involving Hernandez could result in an arbitrator twisting and distorting the terms of the labor deal to allow the Patriots to pursue the $10 million in signing bonus money that had not been fully earned by Hernandez before they cut him.

On the other hand, they cut him.  They didn’t have to cut him.  The Falcons didn’t cut Mike Vick when he went to jail in 2007 for dogfighting, and the Falcons eventually recovered significant bonus money from him.  The Patriots easily could have handled the potential P.R. problem by explaining that they had to keep Hernandez on the roster in order to be able to recover their money.

source : profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Brazilian anti World Cup protests hit Sao Paulo

One protest in Sao Paulo was held near the stadium which will host the tournament's opening match

Riot police in Brazil have fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of people in the city of Sao Paulo who were protesting against the cost of hosting the football World Cup.

Some demonstrators hurled stones while other burned tyres and blocked roads.

They say they are angry that billions of dollars are being spent on next month's football tournament, rather than social projects and housing.

Protests are taking place in many other cities, including Rio de Janeiro.

Aerial images showed hundreds of people marching in rush-hour traffic on a main thoroughfare in the Brazilian city, which will host the final match of the World Cup on 13 July.

Police, teachers and civil servants, among others, have also been on strike across Brazil.

The BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo says that the scale of the protests will be watched closely by the government as an indication of the security challenges they may face during the tournament, which kicks off on 12 June.

He adds that, with both the World Cup and a presidential election this year, many groups have spotted an opportunity to exert maximum pressure on the government.

The demonstrations began earlier in the day in Sao Paulo, with one of the biggest protests in the city's Itaquera district near the Arena Corinthians stadium, which will host the tournament's opening match.

Protesters there demanded housing, and not stadiums, be built in accordance with Fifa standards, in reference to world football's governing body.

source : bbc.com

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