Yahoo and NFL Players settle suit over fantasy stats
Yahoo Inc. has dropped its lawsuit against the NFL Players union over paying for the right to use players’ names and statistics in its fantasy football games. The two sides reached a settlement, but the details weren’t disclosed.
Yahoo filed suit in federal court in Minneapolis last month, following the lead if CBS Interactive, which sued the players union last year on behalf of Fort Lauderdale-based CBSSports.com. A federal judge ruled in CBS’ favor in April that the names and stats are protected by the First Amendment.
That ruling followed an earlier federal appeals court decision in a case involving Major League Baseball that said MLB players’ names and stats are in the public domain. Both CBS and Yahoo believed the baseball ruling applies to football games as well.
The players association has appealed the ruling in the CBS case.
The Fantasy Sports Trade Association has supported Yahoo and CBS in their legal action, but has contended repeatedly that the fantasy game providers and leagues should work together to promote the games.
Andrew Feffer, the union's chief operating officer and executive vice president, told the Associated Press the NFLPA and Yahoo "continue to explore additional opportunities to work together."
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
