football; sues; litigation; frivilous lawsuit; love of the game

INMATE FOOTBALL FAN SUES

‘The Inmate’s Football Playoff Lawsuit

If you enjoy football, then you know how spirited the fans of the game can be. They love their team and they want to see them win, naturally. However, some fans are so obsessed that they may even sue when things do not go their way. Take the example of Terry Hendrix, a man who is incarcerated in a Colorado prison. It seems the Dallas Cowboys are his favorite team, and he just couldn’t handle their 2015 playoff loss. In fact, he was so upset about this that he chose to file a lawsuit against the National Football League officials.

They Could’ve Won the Game!

This is no mere lawsuit though. He sued for more than $88 billion – yes billion – because of a ruling on the field. Dez Bryant, the Cowboy’s wide receiver in the game, appeared to have made a fantastic catch with one hand. However, when the officials reviewed the footage, they instead ruled that it was an incompletion. Sure, it was a close game – 26 to 21 in favor of Green Bay, and maybe if the ruling had been different, the game might have ended differently.

In the suit, the plaintiff wrote, “The plaintiffs did suffer a true injury in fact when the respondents did commit a fraud when they performed a gross negligence by and through a ‘video reversal’ of an outstanding 31-yard pass reception by Dez Bryant #88.” The handwritten suit also went on to say that the referee (Gene Steratore), the VP of officiating (Dean Blandino), and commissioner Roger Goodell were wrong.

Now, being the altruist that he is, Hendrix was not after all these billions for himself. Instead, he said that the damaged were owed to all the “cheerleaders, fans of and all people in or from the sovereign republic of Texas.” Even though he might still be serving time in prison, this is a fan who truly wants to take things to another level when it comes to calling out the referees.

Of course, this is the epitome of a frivolous lawsuit. It only took a few weeks before there was a motion to dismiss the case. While some might think that it is a funny lawsuit and that it is not doing anything to hurt anyone since it would certainly be dismissed, you have to think about just how much time it takes up. This lawsuit and other frivolous types of lawsuits take away time in the court system that could be better spent on actual cases with people who need to have true help from the law and who deserve damages from actual injuries.

No matter how big of a sports fan you might be, and no matter how bad the calls of the officials might be, in the end, it’s just a game. Rather than spending too much time angry, fretting, and filing lawsuits that suck up time and energy, it might be better to spend some of that time elsewhere, bettering your life!