Titans Sued for Mascot's Behavior

This story isn't as interesting as Tara Conner, but last Friday, ex-Saints fourth string quarterback Adrian McPherson filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Titans because their mascot hit him with a golf cart while he was warming up on the sidelines before the second half of an August exhibition game. The short 4-page complaint (actually three because the fourth page contains the signature block), which can be accessed at The Smoking Gun, does not state what his injury was, but does seek $5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. It's unusual to make a request for relief for that amount of money without even describing the injury. But according to an AP release, McPherson incurred "a deep bruise" in his right knee, and the Saints cut him three weeks after the incident. The complaint, however, spins it a little differently stating that McPherson was forced to miss the remainder of the pre-season, and was ultimately placed on injured reserve which meant he was forced to miss the entire NFL season.

Assuming the person performing as the mascot is an employee of the Titans and not an independent contractor, the Titans would be vicariously liable for personal injury proximately caused by his unreasonable conduct. Driving a golf cart into an opposing team's player warming up on the sidelines is most likely negligent. But McPherson has the burden of proving his damages. What's a knee bruise worth to a fourth string quarterback? Definitely not $5M. McPherson alleges that the injury forced him to miss the entire NFL season. However, the Titans will argue that the reason he missed the season is that he was cut by the Saints as the fourth string QB and would have been cut anyways, not because of the knee bruise. The Titans can also point to the fact that he now plays in the Arena Football League, and no other NFL team was interested after he was cut.

What is unfortunate for the Titans, however, is that damages are typically a question of fact for a jury to decide, especially in this situation because it involves determining McPherson's worth as a player as well as the issue of whether he would have made the Saints' roster if he had not been injured. So unless this mascot is an independent contractor, the court would probably not dismiss it as a matter of law on the liability issue.

My prediction is that the Titans will sit on this case for awhile. If McPherson continues playing in the AFL, it tends to establish that the injury he incurred was not that severe. And if he doesn't ultimately get picked up by an NFL team, it tends to show that he would have been cut by the Saints anyways.

Posted in: