Tony Romo’s fantasy football event, Fan Expo LLC, sues NFL for interfering

Had Roger Goodell been in a captain’s hat on a sea world raft in the middle of the pool telling us that they shut it down because they didn’t want all the players profiting on fantasy football without some sort of benefit to the NFL, that’d have at least been genuine.

“However, just weeks before the inaugural event, the NFL placed a series of intimidating phone calls to players, their families, their agents, and the NFL Players Association (“NFLPA”), threatening that the players would be fined and potentially suspended from the NFL if they participated in the event”.

The company that partnered with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to put on a fantasy football camp in Las Vegas is suing the NFL for $1 million for damages after the league refused to allow its players to participate. The NFL will have to defend themselves and justify the hypocritical stance they are facing with last month’s cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Convention.

After failed attempts to persuade the NFL that the event wasn’t associated with gambling, it was called off and refunds were offered to fans who had already booked trips.

Although the convention center was owned by Sands, which owns The Venetian and The Palazzo, the expo where the convention was to take place doesn’t have gambling and wasn’t sponsored by a casino.

The lawsuit also stated that “this case is about the NFL’s blatant and premeditated sabotage of an event designed to bring together the very people who are the backbone of the NFL, the players and the fans”.

Romo was the headliner for the event, but Dez Bryant, Rob Gronkowski, DeMarco Murray and Le’Veon Bell were also reported to have committed to attend.

Take Tony Romo’s fantasy football convention, for instance. But Fan Expo LLC argues that its three-day event wasn’t in violation of that policy.

In the wake of the lawsuit, an NFL spokesman denied any league contact regarding the event, via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports.