Seattle Seahawks v. NFLPA & Sam McCullum
National Labor Relations Board
292 N.L.R.B. 899 (1989)
- Written by Craig Conway, LLM
Facts
For five years, Sam McCullum (defendant) was a starting wide receiver for the National Football League’s (NFL) Seattle Seahawks (plaintiff). In 1981, McCullum was chosen by his teammates to be their union representative. McCullum’s union activities caused tension with the Seahawk’s coach, Jack Patera. Specifically, Patera was upset with McCullum’s organizing a “solidarity handshake” with players from the Seahawks and players from the opposing team before the first pre-season game. Additionally, McCullum remarked at a press conference that Seahawks team doctors released injured players for games too soon when they had not fully recovered. At the end of training camp, the Seahawks obtained another wide receiver, Roger Carr, and cut McCullum from the team. McCullum and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) (defendant) filed an unfair labor practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). At trial, the administrative law judge (ALJ) found the Seahawk’s decision to cut McCullum was influenced by Patera’s anti-union sentiments directed at McCullum. The Seahawk’s appealed the decision to the NLRB.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Board.)
Dissent (Johansen, Member.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
