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| 12th Avenue Bakers owner QCurl Sharif and Bakers quarterback Tom Brady pose for a photograph at Sharif's "Return to Integrity" dinner Friday evening. |
By Ariel Mutha-Tafoya
FSN Sports
In the latest among a fast-breaking series of events that threaten to undo the league’s on-field results from last season, 12th Avenue Bakers owner and league-appointed arbitrator QCurl Sharif has ruled that the East Nashville Black Dogs are rightful NFFA champions for 2014-15.
As part of his finding, Sharif said that the Downtown Corsairs, who defeated the West Nashville Beelzebubbas in last season’s championship game, must surrender the trophy they fashioned for themselves.
Sharif’s ruling comes on the heels of an injunction issued by a federal judge to halt a lower-court decision finding that the Corsairs had violated the league’s little-known “160-hour rule” and must vacate their title — the team’s second in three seasons. Sharif’s decision involves a complaint separate from the lawsuit and apparently is not affected by the court case
Earlier in the summer, NFFA Commissioner Bill Money had appointed Sharif to serve as arbitrator and official investigator to study a formal complaint against the league filed by Black Dogs’ general manager Buddy Ryan. According to the complaint, the Bubbas should have been required to forfeit their semifinals playoff victory over the Dogs because their quarterback, Tom Brady, had used underinflated footballs in the game.
A forfeit, Ryan pointed out, would have put the Black Dogs in the championship game — and, based on their higher score in Week 16, would have given them a victory in the finals over the Corsairs.
Commissioner Money, who is also the Black Dogs’ principal owner, recused himself from the decision and appointed Sharif as a neutral party. Though many observers questioned whether Sharif could be truly neutral — he has, after all, accused Corsairs owner Mojo D of attempting to assassinate him, and it was his team that filed the federal lawsuit seeking to strip the Corsairs of their title — a league official who requested anonymity said Money believed that Sharif’s “forget to hate” philosophy allowed him to purge his mind of animosity and render an impartial decision. “In effect,” said the official, “QCurl’s short-term memory loss issues make him more objective by default. He starts every day with a blank slate.”
“It’s an obvious travesty,” said Nashville mayor Karl Dean, who was seen last year at several Corsairs celebrations at The Palm, the team’s unofficial headquarters. “The sooner the league can get an impartial commissioner in place, the better,” Dean added, hinting that he might be available for the position as his mayoral term ends.
Ryan, unsurprisingly, had a different take. “This is a victory for all that is right and decent about this league and about America,” said the Black Dogs’ crusty eminence grise at a hastily called press conference at the Madison Shoney’s, where Ryan was dining when he got the news. “The moral arc of a [expletive] Hail Mary pass is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Donald Trump, the new owner of the Village Green, called FSN Sports with a comment of his own. “Frankly, I don’t see why anyone would be fighting for the right to own that trophy,” Trump said. “Have you seen that trophy? It’s a loser trophy. Some guy sitting on something, maybe a toilet. It looks like something Lindsay Graham would have.
“Let me tell you something. We’re gonna design a new trophy for the NFFA — something huge and gold, maybe with a chimpanzee. Everybody’s going to love this trophy. Everybody’s going to want it, especially after the Village Green take it home this season and show people what a winner looks like.”
Throughout the summer, there had been no word about Sharif’s investigation into Ryan’s complaint. In fact, there was no sign that Sharif had even followed through on his assignment from Money, creating a strong suspicion that the surprise weekend ruling was almost an afterthought.
Before word came that federal judge Martha Craig Daughtrey had issued her injunction favoring the Corsairs, Sharif and a group of supporters had gathered at the reclusive owner’s West End Tree House for what was billed as a “Return to Integrity” party celebrating the earlier decision for Sharif by Judge Natalie Morningstar. The group reportedly included Vice President Joe Biden, whom Sharif has urged to run for the White House in 2016, and, ironically, new Bakers QB Tom Brady, whose alleged cheating had been the basis for the complaint that Sharif upheld.
When a reporter admitted to the celebration found Sharif, who said he and Coach Snoop Dogg were “about to unleash a Cochabamba snowstorm” — an apparent reference to one provision of the trade with the Bubbas that made Brady a Baker — she reminded him that he had not issued any findings from the investigation into Ryan’s complaint that he had been appointed to conduct.
“Oh, yeah,” Sharif replied, as a look of recognition came across his face. “As you know, it’s been a very busy summer for us, and as you also know, we haven’t had access until this week to all the witnesses we needed.”
Turning to Brady, who was engaged in what he later called a staring contest with actor James Franco, Sharif asked, “Tom, did you cheat with deflated balls when you were with the Bubbas?”
After Brady replied, “I think so,” Sharif turned to the reporter and said: “My work is done here. The Black Dogs are the rightful champions.”
While some longtime observers of the league said it was an egregious mistake to delegate the decision solely to Sharif, others suggested that Money’s options were limited. “Hell, the commissioner employs the GM who filed the complaint,” said sportswriter Woody Larry. “If you take a vote of all the owners, they can’t be objective because they’re all jealous of the Corsairs. The Green’s owner put a banner on his website congratulating the Black Dogs as the champions within 30 minutes of the announcement of the investigation.”
Corsairs owner Mojo D could not be reached for comment early Saturday, but Sharif’s ruling is certain to be challenged. “To be continued,” Corsairs’ legal counsel H. Louis Dewey tersely told reporters gathered outside The Roofie at Music City Center just after 8 a.m. Saturday. “This will not stand.”
As part of his finding, Sharif said that the Downtown Corsairs, who defeated the West Nashville Beelzebubbas in last season’s championship game, must surrender the trophy they fashioned for themselves.
Sharif’s ruling comes on the heels of an injunction issued by a federal judge to halt a lower-court decision finding that the Corsairs had violated the league’s little-known “160-hour rule” and must vacate their title — the team’s second in three seasons. Sharif’s decision involves a complaint separate from the lawsuit and apparently is not affected by the court case
Earlier in the summer, NFFA Commissioner Bill Money had appointed Sharif to serve as arbitrator and official investigator to study a formal complaint against the league filed by Black Dogs’ general manager Buddy Ryan. According to the complaint, the Bubbas should have been required to forfeit their semifinals playoff victory over the Dogs because their quarterback, Tom Brady, had used underinflated footballs in the game.
A forfeit, Ryan pointed out, would have put the Black Dogs in the championship game — and, based on their higher score in Week 16, would have given them a victory in the finals over the Corsairs.
Commissioner Money, who is also the Black Dogs’ principal owner, recused himself from the decision and appointed Sharif as a neutral party. Though many observers questioned whether Sharif could be truly neutral — he has, after all, accused Corsairs owner Mojo D of attempting to assassinate him, and it was his team that filed the federal lawsuit seeking to strip the Corsairs of their title — a league official who requested anonymity said Money believed that Sharif’s “forget to hate” philosophy allowed him to purge his mind of animosity and render an impartial decision. “In effect,” said the official, “QCurl’s short-term memory loss issues make him more objective by default. He starts every day with a blank slate.”
“It’s an obvious travesty,” said Nashville mayor Karl Dean, who was seen last year at several Corsairs celebrations at The Palm, the team’s unofficial headquarters. “The sooner the league can get an impartial commissioner in place, the better,” Dean added, hinting that he might be available for the position as his mayoral term ends.
Ryan, unsurprisingly, had a different take. “This is a victory for all that is right and decent about this league and about America,” said the Black Dogs’ crusty eminence grise at a hastily called press conference at the Madison Shoney’s, where Ryan was dining when he got the news. “The moral arc of a [expletive] Hail Mary pass is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Donald Trump, the new owner of the Village Green, called FSN Sports with a comment of his own. “Frankly, I don’t see why anyone would be fighting for the right to own that trophy,” Trump said. “Have you seen that trophy? It’s a loser trophy. Some guy sitting on something, maybe a toilet. It looks like something Lindsay Graham would have.
“Let me tell you something. We’re gonna design a new trophy for the NFFA — something huge and gold, maybe with a chimpanzee. Everybody’s going to love this trophy. Everybody’s going to want it, especially after the Village Green take it home this season and show people what a winner looks like.”
Throughout the summer, there had been no word about Sharif’s investigation into Ryan’s complaint. In fact, there was no sign that Sharif had even followed through on his assignment from Money, creating a strong suspicion that the surprise weekend ruling was almost an afterthought.
Before word came that federal judge Martha Craig Daughtrey had issued her injunction favoring the Corsairs, Sharif and a group of supporters had gathered at the reclusive owner’s West End Tree House for what was billed as a “Return to Integrity” party celebrating the earlier decision for Sharif by Judge Natalie Morningstar. The group reportedly included Vice President Joe Biden, whom Sharif has urged to run for the White House in 2016, and, ironically, new Bakers QB Tom Brady, whose alleged cheating had been the basis for the complaint that Sharif upheld.
When a reporter admitted to the celebration found Sharif, who said he and Coach Snoop Dogg were “about to unleash a Cochabamba snowstorm” — an apparent reference to one provision of the trade with the Bubbas that made Brady a Baker — she reminded him that he had not issued any findings from the investigation into Ryan’s complaint that he had been appointed to conduct.
“Oh, yeah,” Sharif replied, as a look of recognition came across his face. “As you know, it’s been a very busy summer for us, and as you also know, we haven’t had access until this week to all the witnesses we needed.”
Turning to Brady, who was engaged in what he later called a staring contest with actor James Franco, Sharif asked, “Tom, did you cheat with deflated balls when you were with the Bubbas?”
After Brady replied, “I think so,” Sharif turned to the reporter and said: “My work is done here. The Black Dogs are the rightful champions.”
While some longtime observers of the league said it was an egregious mistake to delegate the decision solely to Sharif, others suggested that Money’s options were limited. “Hell, the commissioner employs the GM who filed the complaint,” said sportswriter Woody Larry. “If you take a vote of all the owners, they can’t be objective because they’re all jealous of the Corsairs. The Green’s owner put a banner on his website congratulating the Black Dogs as the champions within 30 minutes of the announcement of the investigation.”
Corsairs owner Mojo D could not be reached for comment early Saturday, but Sharif’s ruling is certain to be challenged. “To be continued,” Corsairs’ legal counsel H. Louis Dewey tersely told reporters gathered outside The Roofie at Music City Center just after 8 a.m. Saturday. “This will not stand.”
