The arbitration hearing between the Arizona Cardinals and former team executive Terry McDonough has a ruling. As reported by ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, the team must pay McDonough $3 million for defamatory comments made publicly after he filed a grievance for wrongful termination.
The league arbitrator dismissed the original claims but did find the team did defame McDonough “with malice” in the statement, claiming spousal abuse and child neglect.
McDonough amended his original claim to include defamation and invasion to privacy.
The Cardinals accepted the ruling and issued a statement indicating that what was published about McDonough crossed a line.
We are pleased with the arbitrator’s decision dismissing all of Terry McDonough’s employment claims and finding that there was nothing improper about his dismissal from the team. As for Mr. McDonough’s other claim, we respect the arbitrator’s determination that our initial statement went too far. We accept responsibility for that statement and are grateful that the arbitration is now resolved.
The Cardinals are vindicated in McDonough’s termination. They also don’t appear to regret what was said, simply respecting and accepting the result.
McDonough was seeking more than $100 million in total damages. To come away having to only pay $3 million when they clearly crossed a line with their statements about him is a win, especially because everything else was dismissed.
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