Lawyers: NFL, players settle antitrust suit, two other cases

The NFL and its players already had let the world know they worked out their differences. On Tuesday, they formally gave word of the settlement agreement to a pair of federal judges overseeing three pending court cases.

In separate conference calls Tuesday, lawyers for both sides in pro football's labor dispute spoke to U.S. District Judges Susan Richard Nelson and David Doty to say they've settled, contingent on a new collective bargaining agreement being finished by Aug. 4.

The leadership of the NFL Players Association voted unanimously Monday to agree to a deal to end the 4 1/2-month lockout. Owners OK'd an agreement last week.

Nelson was the judge in the federal class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by Tom Brady and nine other players March 11, the day that federally mediated negotiations in Washington broke down, allowing the old CBA to expire. The NFLPA said it was dissolving the union and becoming a trade association, which allowed players to sue under antitrust law.

Now, as part of Monday's deal, the NFLPA will re-establish the union this week. The sides then will negotiate areas that only a union can bargain in a CBA, including drug testing, player discipline and disability and pension programs.

The pact requires that those issues be resolved and a full CBA be done by Aug. 4; no one involved believes that will be a problem.

Doty has oversight for the "lockout insurance" case and a separate collusion claim by players.

On March 1, Doty ruled that the NFL failed to maximize TV revenues for the players, essentially leaving money on the table for the last two years to gain leverage in the labor fight. At a hearing in May, the players asked Doty to make $4 billion in disputed broadcast revenue off-limits to owners; the NFLPA also asked him to award players more than $700 million in damages.

In January, the union accused teams of conspiring to restrict players' salaries last offseason.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Haynesworth, alleged road-rage victim settle, charges dropped

FAIRFAX, Va. -- A judge on Tuesday dismissed a misdemeanor assault charge against Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth after the player reached an agreement with the man who said he was the victim of a road-rage attack.

Under Virginia law, a judge can dismiss misdemeanor assaults under a provision called "accord and satisfaction," in which a victim says he has been made whole, usually by a financial payment.

Neither Haynesworth nor the victim, identified as Arthur Velasquez, would comment on details of the settlement. Haynesworth, dressed in a white collared shirt with blue jeans and large diamond stud earrings, said nothing as he left the courthouse after the two-minute hearing in Fairfax County General District Court.

The incident in early February began when Velasquez gave the finger to Haynesworth on the Fairfax County Parkway in Reston because he believed Haynesworth was following too closely, according to Haynesworth's attorney, Steven Merril, and police accounts.

Both drivers exited the parkway, and at some point Haynesworth got out of his car. At that point, according to Merril, the two men's stories diverged. Velasquez said Haynesworth punched him in the face, giving him a bloody nose.

"There's blame for both of them" in the confrontation, Merril said after the hearing. "You know how northern Virginia can be with tight traffic, anger building up among drivers."

Merril said, "Haynesworth's mistake was he got out of the car. Judges don't like that."

It was not clear if Velasquez knew Haynesworth's identity at the outset of the confrontation.

Velasquez's lawyer, Stephen Sheehy, declined to discuss details of the case but said his client is satisfied with the outcome.

Haynesworth, meanwhile, still faces a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge in the District of Columbia, where he is accused of groping a waitress at a hotel bar. He has pleaded not guilty.

At one point last year Haynesworth was juggling as many four court-related matters, including lawsuits from a bank, an exotic dancer, a man injured in an automobile accident and complaints from his ex-wife that he wasn't paying her health insurance or their children's bills.

Haynesworth set an NFL record in 2009 with $41 million guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins. But Haynesworth fell out of favor with new coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 and repeatedly clashed over workout routines and playing time. The Redskins suspended Haynesworth for the final four games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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