WLAF Is Suspended By Owners 
Expansion also put off because of jury verdict

By Manny Topol. STAFF CORRESPONDENT


  Last week's jury verdict, which  declared the NFL's free-agency system
violated antitrust because it was too restrictive, yesterday claimed its
first two victims  -  the World League of American Football and the
league's expansion plans.
     In the wake of the jury's action, NFL owners meeting here decided
to suspend the operation of the World League  -  at least for the 1993
season  -  and put off expansion plans. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue
said the moves were necessary because of labor unrest in the league, the
lack of a collective-bargaining agreement and the uncertainty created by
the jury's verdict, which will almost certainly lead to fewer
restrictions on free agency for NFL players.
     The NFL was to pick two cities at the end of this year from five
final applicants for expansion franchises, which were supposed to begin
play in 1994. Tagliabue did not rule out the possibility that the two
new teams would start play in '94 but said the timetable for choosing
the teams was definitely put off, and that any estimate of when
expansion plans could be put back on track was  "speculative."
    The move to put off expansion is sure to disappoint  officials of
the cities involved  -  Baltimore, St. Louis, Memphis, Charlotte and
Jacksonville. But Herb Belgrad, commissioner of the Maryland Stadium
Authority, said if the postponement is only until 1993 for city
selection, Baltimore officials would wait "that short time." Tagliabue
said, "We can resolve the labor situation promptly if we take advantage
of this verdict and develop a consensus on both sides of how this should
be negotiated and bargained, which I think is what most players want."
       Although the NFL-funded WLAF is suspended at least for next
spring, there is a possibility the fledgling league may not return at
all. The WLAF completed its second season this past spring. The league
was set up with three teams in Europe, one in Canada  -  Montreal  -
and six in the United States, including the New York / New Jersey
Knights, who played at Giants Stadium.
     Suspension, or eventual demise, of the WLAF affects about 400
players, and if expansion is derailed, about 110 to 120 players would be
affected.
     The owners heard a report of the jury action by the NFL's lead
attorney in the case, Frank Rothman, and Tagliabue said they discussed
the impact of the verdict and possible options to deal with the legal
problem and free agency.
     A jury of eight women heard the approximately three-month antitrust
case brought by eight NFL players who claimed that the NFL's Plan B
unfairly restricted them from becoming total free agents. After two days
of deliberation, the jury decided that Plan B was too restrictive, but
said the plan's right of first refusal and compensation for non-contract
protected players  "significantly contribute to competitive balance in
the NFL."
    That point was the NFL's key defense against the antitrust suit, but
the verdict left the ramifications unclear with both sides claiming
victory.
     Many of the owners emerging from the day-long meeting yesterday
latched on to the jury's decision on competitive balance and interpreted
that as the jury allowing the league to have rules governing free agency
in whatever plan the league devises next.
     "We feel that within the confines of the verdict, we have a wide
range of alternatives that could be implemented by the league,"
Tagliabue said, "either by league resolution or by negotiation with the
players association into a collective-bargaining agreement."
      In what seemed to be a message to the players association for the
need for negotiations, Tagliabue said,  "One thing we need to avoid here
is an overreaction. One of the problems we've had in the past in getting
labor peace in the NFL is that whoever claims the most recent victory
tends to overreact and harden their position."





Copyright 1992, Newsday Inc.