WPS Legal Updates

Discussion in 'NWSL' started by CCSoccerFan, Feb 21, 2012.

  1. CCSoccerFan

    CCSoccerFan Member

    May 2, 2009
    Maybe we can have one thread devoted just to legal filings, decisions and analysis?

    http://espn.go.com/espnw/7594938/wps-files-motion-summary-judgment-dan-borislow-lawsuit

    An excerpt from the link:
    WPS's legal team takes great pains to establish that the deal was contingent on U.S. Soccer approval to allow U.S. national team players to participate on a proposed Borislow exhibition team. The documents use several statements from Borislow's lawyers in an effort to show they were fully aware of the contingency, with one Borislow lawyer telling the court Jan. 26 that "as a result of this point not receiving the sanction or approval of the US Pro Soccer League, we can not report to the court that we've achieved a settlement."
     
  2. Beau Dure

    Beau Dure Member+

    May 31, 2000
    Vienna, VA
    I'm going to get the full documents posted sometime today, for those who enjoy reading such things.
     
  3. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They really filed Affadavit's supporting the M/SJ that relied on hearsay statements from USSoccer?:rolleyes:
     
  4. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I'm so sick of this. I believe the legal issues for the WPS are a smoke screen to shutdown the league for a year by some owners who were tired of loosing money, just my opinion. Borislow's lawsuit may have been a straw on the camel's back but by no means was it the heaviest straw or THE cause for the league to suspend operations, IMO.
    These owners got financial fatigue and needed a break, IMHO. And Borislow's lawsuit was a convenient, last straw.

    This so called legal battle between the WPS and Borislow is not even interesting anymore.
     
  5. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    OK, so you want to read about maybe some more legal troubles for WPS, and it's not even from Borislow.

    What about players who turned down offers from European countries to play in the WPS, believing that the league will continue in 2012, signed a contract with a WPS team and then all of a sudden the league closes shop.
    Do they have recourse?

    http://www.soccer365.com/news/featu...l_looks_to_fill_wps_void#.T0OgpOdXmFs.twitter

     
  6. necron99

    necron99 Member

    Oct 17, 2011
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    If you don't want to read it then stick to other threads. To say it isn't interesting is ridiculous. Whatever other reasons existed for taking a year off, there will be no WPS until they can get this BS out of the court system. At this point Dan/MJ doesn't even want to go to the very arbitration that he sued in court to get. It is all a big game.

    WPS made mistakes, and their lawyers clearly are not focused enough, because they keep getting themselves stuck farther and farther behind the 8-ball by Dan's lawyer and the FL court. But we need to get this out of the court to see if we can even have a 2013 WPS season.

    The fact is if the WPS plays a 2013 season with 1/2 of the budgets they had in 2011, players will still come and play in it. They will still have the highest budget of any women's soccer league (including WPSL-Elite). That alone will bring players in, or do we all believe people played for Dan because he was such a great guy.
     
  7. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    It's only interesting to those who want to lay blame for the shutting down of
    WPS solely on the Borislow litigation. IMO, the Borislow/WPS litigation is only a small part of the troubles of this league.

    necron99, you think this league is coming back the way it was even after the DB litigation is resolved?

    Dream on. WPS in it's current form is history.
     
  8. necron99

    necron99 Member

    Oct 17, 2011
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    My problem is we have 10 different threads focusing on different aspects of this suspension for 2012. But we end up having the same people come to all of the threads and repeat the same opinions in all of them.

    As for me, I will keep the faith. I will support WPS in 2013. What do I gain by jumping on the bandwagon and saying it will fail? What does Women's Soccer gain by me jumping on the bandwagon and saying it will fail? What do the players gain by me jumping on the bandwagon and saying it will fail?

    If they come back with 1/2 the budget of 2011 they will still be the best league with the best players. Should I root for them to fail so that we can have a 3rd semi-pro league like the WPSL and W-League? So I can find zero games on TV or streamed online? I can add to my inability to watch games in all of the European leagues?

    I see nothing to lose in keeping the faith in WPS. And whether Dan was all of the reason for the suspension or not, it all comes back to him. If he could operate his team like a civilized human being during the course of 2011, we would have never gotten into ANY of this. And then if they had shutdown for 2012, we could all say with a clean conscience that it isn't Dan's fault. But the ball started rolling in early 2011 with all of his failures to follow the rules he signed up to.
     
  9. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    No the ball started rolling long before that. When St. Louis folded and then LA SOL folded and the Red Stars siad enough losing money we are going to a lower division where the cost are much lower and FC Gold Pride said we're done, and the Hendrix of your Washington Freedom threw in the towel only to be CPR'ed by Borislow into another form. That's when the ball started rolling and it just kept rolling intill what we have today. No league.

    Don't believe the hype. The folding should not be laid squarely on DB shoulders although yes, he is a part of it.
    The owners needed a break from financial exhaustion and they got it. That in my opinion is the real reason.

    The owners lost too much money in the last two years to go back to same thing they've done before.
     
  10. necron99

    necron99 Member

    Oct 17, 2011
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Fair enough, that is your opinion. I don't share it.
     
  11. Morris20

    Morris20 Member

    Jul 4, 2000
    Upper 90 of nowhere
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    I don't know about that . . . I mean, if the only measure is the owners need to make money there's NEVER going to be pro soccer in this country (or investment in any new idea). It certainly sounds like we've got 5-8 ownership groups ready to invest . . . will it be called WPS? We'll see.

    It'll also be interesting see what happens to CRS . . . by slowing the burn rate are they saving the team, or prolonging the agony? I don't think we know the answer to that either - because if they can't grow attendance at the WPSL level (and I don't think they can), and they depend on volunteer players, than what EXACTLY is the goal here?
     
  12. CANAmerican

    CANAmerican Member

    Aug 10, 2011
    Toronto
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wow thanks for posting...I am curious about this as well.
     
  13. Ben James Ben

    Ben James Ben Member

    Apr 28, 2009
    Beau Dure just posted some legal documents submitted by WPS:

    Motion for Summary Judgment:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/82437471/WPS-motion-for-summary-judgment

    Opposition to Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/82437486/WPS-opposition-to-motion-to-enforce-settlement

    Affidavits from Jennifer O'Sullivan and T. Fitz Johnson:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/82437487/O-Sullivan-and-Johnson-affidavits

    The last document also contains interesting exhibits, including the original email that Borislow sent Sahlen and Stoller proposing the magicJack exhibition games. (I'm not sure if it has been previously posted.)

    Edit: added some previous documents below. I'm not sure if these were previously posted elsewhere.

    Borislow's Motion to Enforce the Settlement Agreement:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/81119820/Borislow-Motion-to-Enforce-Settlement

    Ederer's Declaration in Support of Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/81120129/Ederer-Declaration

    (There are more documents available. Beau Dure's scribd page lists them all.)
    http://www.scribd.com/duresport
     
  14. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    So has Ella Masar gotten herself involved now in this litigation with her blog?
    Is it possible she may be called on as a witness?
     
  15. WPS_Movement

    WPS_Movement Member+

    Apr 9, 2008
    Masar just sent out another tweet while she was on the toilet.
    She's been lashing out tweets from whenever and wherever (from the dinner table, in bed at midnight while setting her alarm, in the morning from the shower, while doing her taxes online, during private solo time in her room under the candlelight, and now while using the toilet).

    In all seriousness, she needs to take this phrase into consideration.
    "Think before you tweet". Because no matter where you're using social media (front porch, backyard, kitchen, bedroom, even on the toilet), it still sends the message out there on the Internet... and what goes on the Internet - stays on the Internet, and can be used in a court of law as proof of documentation, as well as motive.

    So think before you tweet.
    Masar needs to worry about simple things like doing routine work, cleaning up after her mess in the kitchen, flushing the toilet, and making her bed during her free time. She's invested far too much tweeting in to this mess. It's gone far enough, as it's gone borderline obsessional now. She is overdoing it, and it can cost her soon or down the road tangibly and intangibly (such as reputation).


    [​IMG]
    Chasing Borislow is a waste of your time


    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79FEeop7N7c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79FEeop7N7c[/ame]
     
  16. Beau Dure

    Beau Dure Member+

    May 31, 2000
    Vienna, VA
    How do you know she was on the toilet?
     
  17. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Now there is a question you don't get from many journalists!! ;)
     
  18. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I've noticed that Ella is an emotional blogger. What ever comes to mind, whatever rubs her the wrong way, get off her chest, etc., she may write about it.

    Do you guys remember when Ella wrote that blog at the beginning of her stint with MagicJack about how much more respect she got with MJ then in Chicago? How she prefered Magicjack over the Red Stars?
    Do you guys remember that?

    Well if you don't, here's a reminder:

    http://blog.ellamasar.com/page/15/

    A few excerpts from her blog title: I am a Pro, about a year ago when she started with MJ:

    I like Ella. Great person. She was a fan favorite in Chicago. Why she would say that she was more appreciated in MJ then in Chicago is beyond me. It actually took me back a little because she would get flocked with little kids and adult fans alike after each game.
    She was well appreciated by the fans. Appreciation from Emma Hayes, I don't know.
    I think she was given every opportunity by Emma at the beginning of the first season but Ella did not score. She was a forward, that was her job, to score goals. But she went 0-for whatever games and was replaced in the line-up from what I remember. Just my take on it.

    But this blog came out at the beginning of last season.
    Things changed.
    She got benched with MJ toward the end of the season and her mood towards everything changed, it seems to me.

    I enjoy reading Ella's blogs. But it seems to me emotional writing is her thing.
     
  19. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I just reviewed every Ella Masar tweet in 2012 ( https://twitter.com/#!/emasar3 ) and can't find any that mention Borislow or her issues, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
     
  20. Norsk Troll

    Norsk Troll Member+

    Sep 7, 2000
    Central NJ
    Anyone named "Movement" probably shouldn't be talking about posting from the toilet.
     
  21. necron99

    necron99 Member

    Oct 17, 2011
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Ella Masar hasn't posted a single tweet about MJ/Dan since posting the reference to her blog post a couple of weeks ago. She posted 2 or 3 after that thanking people for there support.

    Your post is full of crap.
     
  22. Ben James Ben

    Ben James Ben Member

    Apr 28, 2009
    Beau Dure posted an analysis of the WPS legal situation in his blog article titled "Why the Borislow-WPS case won’t die". It contains the Statement for Status Conference legal document that Borislow filed for the February 23 conference, and it explains the crux of each position regarding "The Deal".
    http://www.sportsmyriad.com/2012/02/why-the-borislow-wps-case-wont-die/

    Direct link to the legal document:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/82811891/Borislow-Statement-for-Status-Conference-2-21-12

    (Beau, a small suggestion. There doesn't seem to be any single place to find all your stuff. Instead, it is scattered across different sites, espn.com, your sportsmyriad.com blog, Twitter, etc.. This makes it difficult for people to follow your work. I suggest that you use some place, perhaps your blog, as a one-stop primary resource where all your work (or links to all your work) can be found.)

    (WPS_Movement, please consider adopting a policy of posting only when you are sober. I checked Masar's Twitter feed, and her posting frequency is usually only a post every other day or so. The posts are innocuous, and number of them are just bible verses.)
     
  23. Morris20

    Morris20 Member

    Jul 4, 2000
    Upper 90 of nowhere
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    This is "through the looking glass" right now . . . DB is suing for the right to go through arbitration and the league has agreed to it - kinda won't take yes for an answer. I don't really understand why the court hasn't chucked it - I mean, who needs a settlement AFTER you've got what you came for in the first place?
     
  24. Beau Dure

    Beau Dure Member+

    May 31, 2000
    Vienna, VA
    Yeah, I need to get back in the habit of doing that. Still hoping to tie it ALL together at some point, but when will that be?
     
  25. necron99

    necron99 Member

    Oct 17, 2011
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Because the truth is that arbitration was a stalling tactic. He was just out to fight the league. He knows he will lose arbitration. However in the course of this case he feels that he got an agreement with the league, and it is way better then what he would get if he went to arbitration. So now because of that screw up by WPS he is going to hold on and fight in that direction to keep that agreement.
     

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