By Mike Schmidt, AEM Director of Industry Communications —
“The idea behind making of a principled decision is you are more likely to make it alone, where the accountability factor is a factor of one. Accountable to yourself. Accountable to your ideals. Accountable to this belief that even though you may lose, your decision is going to create a ripple effect for people you have never met and possibly will never know.” – Former NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.
In 1969, St. Louis Cardinals centerfielder Curt Flood made a principled decision. He sued Major League Baseball, challenging the league’s reserve clause. At the time, every MLB team held its players’ rights in perpetuity. Players could be traded, bought, or sold on a whim. Flood felt he should be afforded the opportunity to take his talents into the free market, bargain with teams, and negotiate his own contract.
It was a bold claim. Baseball’s reserve clause was exempt from federal antitrust laws. Five decades prior to Flood taking legal action in an attempt to gain free agency, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a judgement in favor of the league and ruled baseball’s distinction as “America’s pastime” needed to be protected and, therefore, placed the game above the law of the land. So, in making his principled decision, Flood embarked on an uphill battle against both societal norms and a widely established, longstanding labor rule. And he did it alone.
“Curt Flood went forward with that lawsuit with the idea that he was going to benefit other people around him, the idea that with every decision he would make with respect to his lawsuit would make a ripple effect of not only benefitting himself, but a group of players generations moving forward,” explained Smith, who outlined his thoughts on leadership and principled decision-making at the recently held 2023 AEM Annual Conference in Fort Lauderdale.
Not only did Flood lose his lawsuit, he never again played for the Cardinals. And after sitting out the entire 1970 season, the three-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, and two-time World Series champion closed out a distinguished career in 1971 by appearing in just 13 games for the hapless Washington Senators.
“So, the first characteristic of making a principled decision is not, and cannot be, that you are destined to win,” said Smith.
Ripples, Riptides, and the “Rozelle Rule”
Principled decisions are often made alone, Smith continued. They don’t always pay immediate dividends, either. Decisionmakers aren’t rewarded with additional compensation or widespread recognition for their efforts. Rather, explained Smith, making principled decisions inspires others to do the same, and these decisions create “ripple effects” with far-reaching impacts on people and organizations alike.
“And they are the most important decisions you’ll ever make,” he added.
A year or so after Flood took on Major League Baseball in court, Baltimore Colts All-Pro tight end John Mackey made his own principled decision. Mackey sued the National Football League and argued its “Rozelle Rule” constituted an illegal combination and conspiracy in restraint of trade, and denying professional football players the right to freely contract for their services.
One day after filing his lawsuit, Mackey reported to Colts training camp in preparation for his 11th season with the organization. Team officials informed him he lost his job. While he eventually returned to the field and played one season with the San Diego Chargers, Mackey lost his suit with the NFL and – like Flood – failed to gain free agency.
“No other player joined his lawsuit. But what John Mackey did was kick off 30 years of elbow-to-axe-handle litigation against the NFL. And even though no one joined Mackey in that first lawsuit, hundreds of NFL players between 1972 and 1990 sued the league for free agency,” said Smith.
“And that nearly 20-year-battle ultimately resulted in a win,” he added.
Mackey’s principled decision created both ripple effects and riptides. It led to internal conflict within the NFL and the league’s Players Association. Ultimately, however, it inspired others to take up the cause and join the fight to establish free agency in the NFL.
“There always will be those who are on the side of the principled decisionmakers, because they inspire people to make the right decisions, for the right seasons, and for the right outcomes.” -- DeMaurice Smith
In September of 1992, a U.S. District Court judge ruling granted the NFL’s Keith Jackson, Garin Veris, Webster Slaughter, and D.J. Dozier unrestricted free agency for five days. Not only did the four players represent the league’s first true free agents, but their efforts laid the foundation for NFL free agency to be established in 1993 with the “White Settlement” and its inclusion into the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
“Principled decisions didn’t help Curt Flood or John Mackey right away,” said Smith. “But sometimes we have to make principled decisions with an idea that the immediate benefit is not going to be that first concentric circle. It’s going to be that third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth concentric circle.”
For the first time in NFL history, players were afforded the chance to make decisions related to the direction of their respective careers. Teams promptly lined up and bid against one another to secure the services of some of the league’s top stars, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White.
The principled decisions of Flood, Mackey, and many others ultimately paved the way for the business of sports as its recognized today. Baseball’s Shohei Ohtani recently signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, while pro football superstar Joe Burrow’s 5-year, $275 million deal with the Bengals carries an average annual value of $55 million, the highest ever for an NFL player.
Achieving Success
Accountable to themselves and their ideals, Flood and Mackey created riptides of internal and external conflict in making principled decisions, as well as inspired others to do the same. And, according to Smith, the enduring lesson of their efforts is a simple one: Defeating internal riptides within an organization is the last barrier to success.
“There will always be people who aren’t backstabbers, selfish, or narcissistic. And there always will be those who are on the side of the principled decisionmakers, because they inspire people to make the right decisions, for the right seasons, and for the right outcomes,” said Smith.
“That’s the beautiful thing about confronting these riptides. There will always be more people fighting with you than against you,” he continued. “The key is to find them, and then empower them.”
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