Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Filing 484

Declaration of Noel S. Cohen in Support of 483 Letter Brief filed byBernard Paul Parrish, Walter Roberts, III, Herbert Anthony Adderley. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A to Cohen Declaration)(Related document(s) 483 ) (Katz, Ronald) (Filed on 10/19/2008)

Condensed Transcript
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES NORTHERN DISTRICT (SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION) BERNARD PAUL PARRISH, HERBERT ANTHONY ADDERLEY, and WALTER ROBERTS , III, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, a Virginia Corporation, and NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS INCORPORATED, d/b/a PLAYERS, INC., a Virginia Corporation, Defendants CONFIDENTIAL VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF GENE UPSHAW Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:05 a.m. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, One Metro Center,Suite 1100 700 12th Street, N.W., Washington,D.C. Reported By: Susan E. Smith, RPR, Notary Public Civil Action C07 0943 WHA

Gene Upshaw CONFIDENTIAL
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February 13, 2008

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motion to compel his answer. Q. Do you believe, as you sit here now, that Exhibit 118 provides for any money to flow to any retired player? MR. KESSLER: Same objection. A. My answer is the same. It's not going to change. It says what it says. MR. KATZ: My motion to strike is the same, so we'll take it up with a judge.
Q. Looking now at Exhibit 117, the

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directed to one individual, Joe DeLamielleure. Q. Did you say those words?
A. Yes.

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Q. Okay. MR. KATZ: Have the reporter mark as the next exhibit. (Whereupon, Upshaw Deposition Exhibit No. 119, marked.) Q. Is this a memorandum, sir, that
you sent out in the regular course of your business on or around January 20, 2006? A. Yes. Q. And is it referring to the Charlotte Observer article which is Exhibit 117? A. Yes.

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Charlotte Observer article, have you ever --1 realize you may not have seen it in this form, which is sort of a computerized print-out, but do you recall that there was an article in which you were quoted in the Charlotte
Observer on January 15; 2006?

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A. Yes. Q. And do you believe that this contains the words that were contained in that article, Exhibit 117? A. Not for accuracy, no. I mean, are you asking me are these the words -Q. Is this that article, as far as. you can tell? A. To the best of my knowledge, yes.
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MR. KESSLER: Are you representing
this as the complete document? MR. KATZ: I'm not representing

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anything. I'm just asking questions.
Q. Is this the complete document,
sir?

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A. I'm not sure. I can't tell by Q. Directing your attention to the
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Q. Okay, fine. So directing your attention to the second page of Exhibit 117, it quotes you as follows. Well, in the first paragraph it says: Upshaw, sixty, who has been executive director of the NFLPA since 1987, says he stands by his record and rejects a suggestion he's supposed to be the retirees' representative. "The bottom line is I don't work for them," he said. "They don't hire me and they can't fire me. They can complain about me all day long. They can have their opinion, but the active players have the vote. That's who pays my salary."

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first paragraph, it says: Much has been made -- well, the re line is: The Truth about Retiree Benefits. What were you referring to there, sir, when you say retiree benefits? To what benefits were you referring? A. I was referring to the benefits that are in reference to the ones that are listed here on this page, and several others,. but that was what I put here.
Q. The six bullet points? A. Yes.

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Did you say those words?
A. I said those words directed at one individual, Joe DeLamielleure.

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Q. Then it continues quoting you in
the next paragraph , it says : "They (retirees) say they don't have anybody in the

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Q. These comments were made in response to several retired players' criticism of me and the NFLPA. To which retired players are you referring there, sir? A. The retired players that were
mentioned in the Charlotte Observer article. Q. So Joe Montana is one of them; is that right? A. I received calls, I received

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(bargaining ) room . Well, they don 't and they
never will . I'm the only one in that room. They' re not in the bargaining unit. They don' t even have a vote." Did you say those words, sir? A. Once again , those words are

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e-mails at one point, I can't remember, from several players that were mentioned in the article who felt the same way as I did, Howie Long in particular, who pointed out, and so

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Gene Upshaw CONFIDENTIAL
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did Marcus Allen, that he knew that his quotes and comments were taken out of context, the same way as mine were taken out of context in this article. That was later. So when you say those players and you mentioned Joe Montana, they were quoted in the article.

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Q. Because you do represent the retired players in other ways, right? A. Yes. Q. For example, you represent them in their licensing; isn't that right? A. We provide access for the retired

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Q. Right. So you're referring to the
people who were mentioned in the article, the retired players who were mentioned in the article?

players through our programs, yes.
Q. You represent them, the NFLPA represents them, and PI represents them in their licensing activities; isn't that

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A. Yes.
Q. And that includes Howie Long, right? A. Yes. Q. And Joe Montana, right? A. The people that are included in the article. Q. Which includes Joe Montana; isn't that right?

correct, sir?
A. Some, yes. Q. Then it says: As a retired player, you are not a union member. That's actually not right, is it, sir? They are union members, right? A. They're not union members in the sense of collective bargaining. That is accurate. They are not union members. They

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A. Yes.
Q. And John Elway, isn't that right? You have to answer audibly. A. Yes, they're in the article, all of the names that are there. Q. All right. And in fact, you've
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are not part of the bargaining unit.
Q. I understand that. But they are members of the NFLPA, correct? A. That doesn't make them members of the bargaining unit. Q. I don't want to argue with you,
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received -- is it fair to say you've received widespread criticism from retired players? MR. KESSLER: Objection to form of
the question. Q. You may answer.

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sir. A. That's my answer. Q. I agree with you, they're not
members of the bargaining unit, okay? I'm not asking that question. The question I'm asking

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A. 1 mean, I don't know how to answer Q. Well, let me back up a little bit.
Is it correct that you have received criticism

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is simply, isn't it correct that retired
players are members of the NFLPA?

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A. Yes.
Q. And when did they start being

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from retired players?
A. Yes. Q. Is correct that that criticism has

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considered as members?
A. When we made the constitutional change, and I told you earlier I don't

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gone on for a number of years? A. No.
Q. Is it correct that criticism has

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remember exactly when that occurred. Q. Are you familiar with a document
called an LM-2?

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been made by hundreds of players? A. I wouldn't say hundreds. Q. Dozens, would you say dozens?
A. Yes.

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A. Yes, I am. Q. And the LM-2, among other things, lists a number of members of the organization
every year; is that correct?

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Q. Okay. Then it says, in the second paragraph it says: Like any other labor
union, we represent only active players.

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A. Yes. Q. And are you aware that up to the
year, 1 think, 2005, 2006 -- and we have all

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And when you say represent there, you
mean in collective bargaining? A. Yes.
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the LM-2s here. I'm just trying to cut this
short a little bit, but we can show them to you -- up to the year 2005, 2006, you listed
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