NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Associated Press
Sept. 14, 2019
A Louisiana court’s recent dismissal of a lawsuit against the NFL over officiating at a January playoff game is now being cited by attorneys for the Catholic Church as they fight civil lawsuits over alleged sex abuse by clergy.
A Tuesday filing by church attorneys quotes from the Supreme Court’s Sept. 6 decision dismissing a suit filed by attorney and Saints fan Antonio LeMon. LeMon and three others had sued the NFL for alleged fraud after officials failed to call blatant pass interference and roughness penalties during a key play in a Saints playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“Just as it is ‘not the role of judges and juries to be second-guessing the decision taken by a professional sports league purportedly enforcing its own rules,’ it is certainly not the role of judges and juries to adjudicate whether or not a religious entity such as the Archdiocese has complied with its own rules, doctrines, or policies,” the filing says. “Moreover, the right of religious entities to govern themselves is guaranteed by both the United States and Louisiana Constitutions, while professional sports leagues have no similar constitutional protection.”
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