Red Sox Use Patriots and Mike Tyson Cases in Argument to Dismiss Class Action Sign-Stealing Suit
The Boston Red Sox moved on from Alex Cora and thus tried to erase any connection to the MLB sign-stealing scandal. Yet there is a class-action lawsuit against MLB, the Red Sox, and the Houston Astros led by DraftKings customers who believe the cheating affected the results of the fantasy contests.
The Red Sox have lawyers defending the team and part of the strategy has been to cite past examples of cheating that have not resulted in successful lawsuits.
From Bob Hohler: Red Sox lawyers cited cases against the Patriots and Mike Tyson in arguing for the dismissal of a class-action suit against the team for alleged electronic sign stealing in 2018 https://t.co/vVl5lZQUb2 via @BostonGlobe
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 27, 2020
First the lawyers cited the fact the Patriots were not successfully sued after the Spygate scandal. What's different in this case is that MLB and its teams have partnerships with DraftKings.
MLB lawyers say: "Plaintiffs got exactly what they bargained for: contests determined by baseball players' actual performance on the field..."
— Alfonso Straffon ?????? (@astraffon) February 23, 2020
Astros, Red Sox, Major League Baseball Urge Dismissal of Sign-Stealing Lawsuit https://t.co/6a7AVoRQ5Y
The lawyers also cited the fact pay-per-view customers did not successfully win a case for refunds after Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997.
The argument is that the customers still gambled on a game determined on the field. And based on precedent cited by the lawyers, this will be a difficult case for the plaintiffs to actually take down MLB. As much as the likes of the Red Sox and Astros have taken a hit in the court of public opinion, gaining financial means in a court of law will be much tougher.