Radovich's Revenge

I’ve named this blog Radovich’s Revenge mostly because I thought it sounded awesome — an alliteration, a Russian sounding name, “revenge” is a great motivator, etc.  That said, the Radovich I’m invoking is actually a real guy, Big Bill Radovich (not the tackle playing for the Vikings, Drew Radovich,  thought maybe they’re related).

Bill Radovich played his college days at USC and then 5 years at guard with the Detroit Lions (1938-1941, 1945). Then his story got interesting.  Here’s the wikipedia story:

The next year he asked to be traded to the Los Angeles Rams, or be better paid, as his father, who lived near that city, was seriously ill and he wanted to be able to spend more time with him. Lions’ owner Fred Madel Jr. refused, saying (according to Radovich) “I’d either play in Detroit or I wouldn’t play anywhere”. Since his contract had expired, he instead signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and played with them for two seasons, despite Madel’s promise to put him on a blacklist for five seasons. In 1948 the San Francisco Clippers of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), a minor pro football league whose clubs had some affiliations with the NFL, offered him a position as a player and coach.  After learning that the NFL had indeed blacklisted Radovich due to his play in the AAFC and would punish any club that did hire him, however, the Clippers withdrew their offer.

So, like any good American, Radovich brought an antitrust suit against the NFL.  I’ll let you head over to the Wikipedia page to get the whole story, but long story short, he won.  Radovich v. National Football League stands for the principle that the NFL does not have the same antitrust exemption as Major League Baseball.

Why do I bring this story up today?  Because it sounds an AWFUL lot like the news out of the NFL yesterday.