The NFL enjoys a couple of important antitrust exemptions. But the collection of 32 independent businesses isn’t immune from any and all liability for collective action under the umbrella of Big Shield.
Via Matthew Belloni of Puck, the NFL’s refusal to allow teams to have official Bluesky accounts has prompted an antitrust lawsuit from consumers who want to follow the various franchises on a platform other than Twitter.
The civil action challenges the refusal to do business with Bluesky, reportedly due to the fact that Bluesky has yet to make it worth the NFL’s while to allow teams to do business with the upstart challenger to the social-media service that many have fled due to its owner’s politics.
From the complaint, some fans “do not want to have to follow their teams on Elon Musk’s X platform,” and that consumers “should be free to decide that they do not want to do business with a particular outlet or brand.”
The NFL will undoubtedly commence its defense by trying to force the case from open court and into arbitration. And the first question will be whether and to what extent any of the plaintiffs have agreed to last year’s NFL.com terms and conditions that consent to arbitration and waive the ability to proceed as a class-action.
While it doesn’t cure the potential underlying violation, it potentially makes it much harder for those who have agreed to those terms to get full and complete justice.
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