Today's Fulton County Daily Report contains a story concerning Tuesday's oral arguments before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in an appeal by retired professional football players against the National Football League and the NFL Players Association. The former players are seeking to reverse a ruling last year dismissing the players' suit against the NFL and the Player's Association regarding a Ponzi scheme by an alleged broker and financial advisor, Kirk S. Wright, with whom the players had invested millions of dollars.
The plaintiffs allege the Player's Association allowed Wright to be placed on a list of approved financial advisors. The plaintiffs allege that a background check would have revealed multiple liens against Wright and his business partner, Nelson "Keith" Bond, and that neither Wright or Bond were licensed financial advisors in any state. Wright was convicted for fraud and money laundering in 2006. He is alleged to have defrauded investors, including professional athletes, entrepreneurs and his very own mother, of approximately $150 million.
The plaintiffs invested a total of $11 million with Wright and Bond and their partnership, IMA. Wright committed suicide in a jail in Union City, Georgia, three days after he was convicted. IMA is in bankruptcy. A staggering 170 lawsuits have been filed seeking restitution as a result of Wright's activities, including by investment firms Lehman Brothers Inc., Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., J.B. Oxford & Co., Banc of America Securities LLD and TD Ameritrade Inc., and law firm Gambrell & Russell.
The plaintiffs include retired players Steve Atwater, Blaine Bishop, Carlos Emmons, Clyde Simmons and Al Smith. Atwater was a free safety for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets from 1989 to 1999; Bishop was a safety for the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles from 1993 to 2002; Emmons was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles and the New York Giants from 1996 to 2006;Simmons was a defensive end for the Eagles, the Arizona Cardinals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Bears from 1986 to 2000; and Smith was a linebacker for the Oilers from 1987 to 1996. "Assassin" Atwater in particular is a two time Superbowl winner with the Broncos, an eight-time Pro Bowl selectee, a two-time First Team All-Pro Selectee who has been considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The players' filed suit against the NFL and the Players' Association in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. However, in March of 2009, District Judge Julie E. Carnes dismissed the plaintiffs' suit.
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The plaintiffs' attorneys argued to the panel, which included Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat and Judge David M. Ebel, a visiting Senior Judge from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, that the District Court's order deprived the players of any remedy and effectively gave the NFL and the Player's Association immunity. The panel pointed out that the players' collective bargaining agreement appeared to pre-empt the players from filing suit. Counsel for the players' union countered that the plaintiff's failed to inquire with the Players' Association regarding Wright prior to investing millions of dollars with him. The case turns on whether the retired players are still governed by the collective bargaining agreement, which would bar their suit against the NFL and the Players' Association since it provides that players are solely responsible for their own finances.
