According to an arbitration claim filed Tuesday by former Arizona Cardinals executive Terry McDonough, team owner Michael Bidwill instructed him and former head coach Steve Wilks to communicate with general manager Steve Keim via burner phones while he was suspended for five weeks in 2018 following a DUI arrest.
As part of the filing, McDonough says that he and Wilks “objected to and sought to avoid participation in a scheme hatched by Bidwill to utilize burner phones to communicate with general manager Steve Keim — in violation of the terms of Keim’s suspension for extreme DUI — during a critical period of the Cardinals training camp in the summer of 2018.
“In response to McDonough’s objection to the illicit burner phone scheme, Bidwill cursed at, berated, and formally reprimanded McDonough, and ultimately demoted him — irrevocably damaging the trajectory of McDonough’s 34-year career in the National Football League. Bidwill also subjected McDonough to bullying, mocking, harassing, and abusive behavior.”
McDonough also claims Bidwell undermined head coach Steve Wilks’ one-year stint as head coach, which became a flashpoint that many pointed to in how Black head coaches don’t get a fair shake in the league.
The Cardinals denied the claims as “wildly false, reckless, and an opportunistic ploy for financial gain.”
While the NFL world waits for Commissioner Roger Goodell to rule on whether or not the situation moves to arbitration, there were lots of thoughts on the accusations.
This has been brewing for a while, and carries some serious accusations—Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is accused of "bullying treatment" towards pregnant women and having "created an environment of fear for minority employees."
Arizona is disputing the accusations. https://t.co/xlQqdH09Hm
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 4, 2023
Read this if you're an Arizona Cardinals fan.
Serious allegations and potentially extremely serious ramifications if true. https://t.co/ZYKMbVFUxY
— Alex Clancy (@ClancysCorner) April 4, 2023
https://twitter.com/lukezim/status/1643329910495227907
It has not been a great year for the Arizona Cardinals. Sheesh. https://t.co/7Me3v8p6jW
— Brendan Sugrue (@BrendanSugrue) April 4, 2023
Imagine if the end result of your cheating was just still being the Arizona Cardinals? Tough. https://t.co/Y5MLvP8HmP
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) April 4, 2023
[ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.