New NXL Player Contract--Enforceable?

[Chicago]

Maybe.

The US has a pretty solid case history of "Sports injuries are sports injuries" where the provider of sporting event is definitely not liable for them. It's actually specifically written into state law in many states because without that protection, we wouldn't have sports.

If you go into a baseball park as a spectator even and get hit with a baseball, the park isn't even liable for that.

 

[Missy Q]

I don't doubt your logic, but I can see multiple loopholes and I am no legal eagle. Paintball venues are not set up to the same standard of baseball parks. The same accountability does not apply. People are not shooting guns at each other, ignoring ASTM standards, exploiting grey area's to under-insure and save $$'s, are generally supervised to predesignated staffing levels and state controlled criteria, and play the largest sport in the US, with recognised risks and dangers that are universally accepted as it is one of the national sports. Parents know full well the limited harm they are exposing thier kids to, and are far less likely to pursue damages because of this, and if they did, they would be met by the might of the city involved. Tricky case for an attorney to win. City parks have huge liability policies from the cities themselves.
Flash over to Paintball, and I have a question for you. If you took all the parents of the kids playing Xball, stood them around the field to watch a game between, lets say, Dynasty and the Iron Men (just to keep it current), introduced them to the organisers, and the refs/officials - How many of those parents would still want the kids to travel with the circus and go to these things unchaperoned? They would have reservations, after seeing a bunch of kids try to hurt each other in as many ways as possible while lauching torrents of foul-mouthed abuse at each other between points. These reservations, and the underlying feeling that there is little control exercised over the players involved, and the horrific overshooting that has become 'normal' , would likely persuade parents to take legal advice should anything happen to thier kid. Thats the difference.
the old adage applies here - only get into fights you know you can win. If I was a lawyer with the slightest knowledge of paintball I would think I could win a negligence claim no problem. Soon there will be lawyers just like that advertising in the magazines. The players will use them, and the whole job wil get a lot more expensive. 'Where there's muck there's brass'.
Tell me I'm wrong...

 

[Chicago]

Oh, you're absolutely right - that's why the paintball is in decline. Those kinds of parents have already pulled their kids from the sport.

 

[Missy Q]

some, but by no means all.
Kids are actively trying to keep parents away from events because they KNOW they will not approve. In the meantime, the language and general behavior continues to degenerate as the paintball demographic is gradually stripped of participants with responsible parents. What remains is less use to the industry, and more likely to cause problems, and the cycle continues.
Strict judging, harsher penalties, and financial pressure has to be brought to bear while there is still time to do this.
Thats my opinion.

 

[Chicago]

Is NPPL going to be cracking down on behavior this year then?

 

[duffistuta]

Originally posted by Missy Q
Soon there will be lawyers just like that advertising in the magazines.

There will? Brilliant.

I am all for it - with the industry contracting we could do with the revenue.

Missy, get on the phone - usual 10% kickback.

 

[Liz]

Originally posted by Baca Loco

Page 3 NXL™ PLAYER CONTRACT
c. A Player that does not wish to be traded should make every effort to resolve the issue with the Team owner and the Team owner should make every effort to work with the Player to everyone’s mutual benefit. i. In the event that a Player’s interest cannot be served by a trade, the Player may quit the Team.
d. A Player that quits a team is immediately assigned to the lowest place team in the League. i. The lowest place team in the League may keep the player on the team or “waive” its rights to that Player. ii. The Player will then be assigned to the next highest team in standings. (The standings used prior to the start of the season will be from the playoffs of the previous season otherwise, it will be the standings at the time the player quits.) iii. This process can continue until the Player finds himself/herself on a Team that wants their services (except for the team they just left).

I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on this clause yet, in particular section d "A Player that quits a team is immediately assigned to the lowest place team in the League". The way this reads to me is that if a player and team cannot resolve any dispute, they player is allocated to a team and has no choice in the matter. So what happens if the team they are allocated to hasn't got the same deals as the team they have been cut from e.g. much lower sponsorship, (which would seem quite likely given that the teams that are struggling are often those with less support,) so the player can't afford to play for them? Or what if the team they are allocated to trains 4000 miles away and the player can't really afford to travel to training sessions? Or even just if the team the player is allocated to has a deal with a supplier who's kit that player hates?
The contract leaves absolutely no opening for a player to have any choice in where they end up playing if they leave a team for any reason!

I also found this bit from the first page a little puzzling

The League shall publish amendments to the League and Game rules on the League’s website (www.nxlpaintball.com) when it is not to the detriment of the League’s integrity as so deemed by the League.

When could it be "to the detriment of the League's integrity" to publish the rules on their web site?

 

[Chicago]

Well, first tha team has to decide if they want to burn a roster spot on their team for that player. If they do, then the player can either make do with the new team or quit the NXL.

To make it more fair, maybe the league should also prohibit teams from adding players to their roster if they don't honor their contracts to existing players.

 

[Missy Q]

this is going to get UG-Leee!

 

[Robbo]

I am soooooo glad we have people lIke Baca, Chicago and Missy amidst our ranks who have the brains and commitment to read thru sh!t like that.
If I was presented with that I'd just sign it because I just couldn't be bothered to try and digest all that bollocks-talk.

I would be instantly bored after the first sentence and would elect to sign it on the basis of a lesser of evils.

People like those 3 just mentioned have the necessary intellect and patience to highlight any possible loopholes and injustices for us all and I'm least grateful we got them on our site even if sometimes they don't always get on.