NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints are backing the National Football League in its court battle against season ticket holders who sued following the NFC Championship game no-call.
In a new brief dated Tuesday, the Saints organization said it shared the fans' disappointment but already achieved rule changes it wanted following the infamous no-call.
"The Saints appreciate that those fans are willing to take up what they may perceive to be the Saints' cause," the court document says. "But taking up such a cause in this form, in the courts, is not warranted, and is not in the Saints' interests."
The team also argued that allowing the lawsuit to proceed in court would open the doors to countless lawsuits from passionate sports fans.
Tuesday, NFL attorneys filed an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court to block Saints’ fans lawsuit against the league over the infamous NFC Championship No Call.
In the filing, Attorney Glad Jones argues that the lawsuit opens the NFL and athletic leagues of all sizes to frivolous lawsuits from upset fans anytime a game doesn't go their way.
“Such an outcome will be to the detriment of Louisiana sports teams at all levels, to their fans, and, more crucially, to the efficient functioning of the judiciary, which will soon find itself mired in disputes that it lacks the time or expertise to resolve,” Jones argues in the filing.
Last month, a Louisiana judge ordered that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and three officials from January's NFC title game be questioned under oath in September about the infamous "no-call" that helped the Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints in January's NFC title game.
Attorney Antonio LeMon,lawsuit seeks $75,000 in damages — to be donated to charity — over the failure to flag a pass interference or roughness penalty against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman for his helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Tommylee Lewis well before a pass arrived. The no-call came at a crucial point in the game, denying the Saints a 1st-and-goal situation that would have all but sealed their victory. The Rams won and advanced to the Super Bowl.
The next hearing is currently set for Aug. 22.
