Tony Romo’s lawsuit against the NFL heads to court next week

Tony Romo’s lawsuit against the NFL relating to the closure of a fantasy football conference will go to court next Monday, according to Pro Football Talk.

Per PFT, Romo alleges the league improperly shut down the National Fantasy Football Convention, “over concerns that the event was being held on property owned by a casino.”

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the two sides head to court on Monday for a hearing on the NFL’s motion for summary judgment. The source says that Romo’s venture, the National Fantasy Football Convention, plans to amend its lawsuit to state additional specific claims against the NFL.

Also, the NFFC’s lawyers hope to question Commissioner Roger Goodell under oath, under the theory that he has the final say on matters relating to gambling. So far, the NFL has produced only executive V.P. Adolpho Birch for questioning, and the league is resisting the attempt to question Goodell. The dispute likely will be resolved by the presiding judge.

As PFT points out, there is some hypocrisy involved here, as the casino that hosted Romo’s convention is the same one the Raiders have discussed building a stadium at.

Things always get messy when leagues and gambling interact. For years, professional sports didn’t know what to make of fantasy sports, but now they’ve opened their arms, enough, apparently, to let Romo head a fantasy convention but not enough to let him hold it on property owned by a casino. Daily fantasy has created a new set of inconsistencies, with baseball players, for example, explicitly banned from playing the games even though Major League Baseball partners with DraftKings.

Surely Romo’s lawyers will argue sports can be hypocritical when it comes to gambling, and they will not be wrong.

[PFT]