The Arizona Cardinals are dealing with a new offseason scandal. Former vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough filed a request for arbitration with the league accusing owner Michael Bidwill of a number of things including cheating, bullying, harassment and more.
McDonough believes the result of what he is bringing will be the end of Bidwill as the owner of the Cardinals.
He shared a number of text messages with Doug Franz, a former well-known radio host in Phoenix who now has his own daily podcast, “Doug Franz Unplugged.”
Franz shared the texts he got from McDonough on Monday.
“Bidwill’s days of owning the Cardinals will soon be coming to an end, and he has nobody to blame but himself and his horrific behavior toward so many people,” he wrote to Franz via text.
McDonough claims he has a 29-page petition of what he says is completely factual evidence of Bidwill’s mistreatment of employees and says it is all the truth.
“This was never about me,” he said. “Someone had to put a stop to Bidwill’s cruel treatment of people. When I saw how he was trying to treat me, I knew it was time to speak up against him and for all the people he thought he could bully because he owned the team.”
McDonough includes former head coach Steve Wilks as one of the biggest victims of Bidwill’s behavior.
“Do you have any idea of how heinous Michael Bidwill’s actions were toward Steve Wilks in 2018,” he asked. “Bidwill loved me right up until that point.
“From (general manager Steve) Keim’s suspension on, everything changed. The only thing I did was let Bidwill know that I was going to expose him for his atrocious treatment of Steve Wilks. That’s why I suddenly disappeared. He couldn’t fire me because he knew I had him dead in his tracks, and that’s why he came out with all that B.S. about me last week.”
He was referencing the response the team gave, bringing up McDonough’s own workplace misconduct.
McDonough believes he and Wilks hold the smoking gun that will force Bidwill out.
“His biggest mistake is this — he never thought he was going to be held accountable for his cruel and uncivilized behavior towards many people,” he said. ‘His time of owning an NFL team is going to come to a quick and abrupt end whenever I speak and especially when Steve Wilks talks.”
Thus far, Wilks has made no comment on any of this, although he is included as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the NFL for racist hiring practices filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
The league will decide if commissioner Roger Goodell will hear this case or whether someone he appoints will hear it.
McDonough appears ready to make sure this story doesn’t get forgotten.
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