NEW YORK -- The NHL violated antitrust laws and is acting like "an illegal cartel" by monopolizing control of team promotions, Madison Square Garden claimed in a lawsuit Friday.
MSG, which owns the New York Rangers, said it filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan because the NHL would begin fining the organization $100,000 per day starting Friday if the company did not give the league complete control over the Rangers' Web site and other promotions.
The league is seeking to control the licensing of teams for all commercial purposes and to stop teams from marketing apparel, merchandise and memorabilia, the suit said. MSG asked that a judge order the league to stop limiting team promotions, and it also wants the court to clarify the boundaries of the league's rights.
The company said the NHL had once worked with teams in a legitimate joint venture but had more recently "veered into unlawful behavior."
"By seeking to control the competitive activities of independent businesses in ways that are not necessary to the functioning of that legitimate joint venture, the NHL has become an illegal cartel," the suit said.
Scott Arthur Eggers, a lawyer for the NHL, said he had no comment.
2007-09-28 15:36:24 · 8 answers · asked by Ilmari_Karjalainen 3 in Sports ➔ Hockey
Yeah, I copied and pasted the text from TSN. But I did it b/c I thought it was a good topic of conversation for people to weigh in on! I don't give a darn that I lost 10 points. I thought it'd be good that people weigh in their opinions. God knows we have no voice in the NHL really. That's why I did it.
If I really were working for TSN I wouldn't be making US$31 a year with no darn health insurance.
2007-09-28 15:59:10 · update #1
Yeah, I copied and pasted the text from TSN. But I did it b/c I thought it was a good topic of conversation for people to weigh in on! I don't give a darn that I lost 10 points. I thought it'd be good that people weigh in their opinions. God knows we have no voice in the NHL really. That's why I did it.
If I really were working for TSN I wouldn't be making US$31K a year with no darn health insurance.
2007-09-28 16:00:52 · update #2
The owners agreed to this in the current CBA, so I'm not sure that the suit has merit.
The whole idea behind the 'partnership' between the NHL and the NHLPA was to ensure that the players received their fair share of the pie. The only way to do this was to streamline the operations of the teams.
This meant that teams would lose control over certain items.
The Rangers cannot operate without the NHL
The NHL can operate without the Rangers.
So, while the rangers would like to do what they want to do (and trust me, all teams would) - they signed away certain freedoms in the CBA.
2007-10-01 06:06:07 · answer #1 · answered by Like I'm Telling You Who I A 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Given the information that you posted, my impression is that the Rangers are doing what any business would want to do to increase its profitability. While that may seem normal in a system of free enterprise, the sticking point is that they are part of a larger organization. And I think thats what the NHL is pursuing.
If all teams were able to develop revenue streams independent of any type of agreement that is consistent with profit sharing, that would violate an agreement designed to help the smaller market teams stay competitive.
In the NFL there is a well executed agreement that all teams adhere to, but the NHL doesn't have that quite yet. Despite the contested situation between MSG and the NHL, the "haves" were still the "haves" and the "have nots" were still the "have nots" to some varying degrees.
2007-09-29 00:48:31 · answer #2 · answered by Awesome Bill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds to me that Bettman wants a small dictatorship of the league so he can have complete control on marketing it. Thank god MSG launched legal action or else hockey would be below lawn bowling in the ratings once he's done. Bettman should take some advice from Saddam and Kim on how to become a dictator.
2007-09-28 23:03:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To me it sounds like there may have been a change in the agreement between the league and teams in this regard. I can't see Bettman suddenly thinking the league had rights to merchandising without knowing for sure. If anything Bettman seems to have a nose for money. My guess is the Rangers were not aware of some recent changes.
2007-09-28 23:26:26 · answer #4 · answered by cme 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What the NHL is doing is stupid. All the websites should be unique, but they're all the same. The Rangers site is the best one only because it's different, it's the only one that's different. All the other ones look exactly the same, it's lame and boring. I applaud MSG for suing the NHL, maybe now the league will see that it's better for teams to have unique, individual, sites.
2007-09-28 23:18:26 · answer #5 · answered by N/A 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Its probably a legitimate case, but let's face it...
The Rangers are in the largest North-American market, they probably have the largest operating budget, and never have to fear being in fiscal trouble.
The fact that they are the only team that hasn't conformed to the League's NHL.com "team network" doesn't surprise me. They claim to need control of the website to advertise their team but fail to mention that they have thousands and thousands of established fans and corporate sponsors.
2007-09-28 23:12:51 · answer #6 · answered by jlpubarch 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually bores me to death. Legal mumbo jumbo. I did however find it funny that a New York Jet fan/lawyer filed a lawsuit against the Pats for consumer fraud. That is just funny.
2007-09-28 23:05:55 · answer #7 · answered by Bob Loblaw 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
copied verbatim from tsn. weird huh?
2007-09-28 22:48:36 · answer #8 · answered by sshueman 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋