Take Me Out to the Courthouse · The Commissioner's Office
Loose Lips at the Party
Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. v. Kuhn (1977)
Charge: Challenge to the commissioner's one-year suspension of a club owner for tampering (suit against the commissioner)Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of GeorgiaDocket: The Commissioner's Office
Did the commissioner have the power to suspend an owner for a year over public tampering remarks?
The facts
In the first season of free agency, the commissioner warned clubs not to tamper with players still under contract elsewhere. At a party, a flamboyant club owner told people he would pay whatever it took to sign a star outfielder who still belonged to another club. After the remark was reported, the commissioner suspended the owner from baseball for a year and also took away the club's first-round draft pick. The owner and the club sued.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. v. Kuhn, 432 F. Supp. 1213 (N.D. Ga. 1977)
Read more at lexplug.com. The source reveals the outcome.