NFL Players’ Painkiller Class Action Gets Green Light

The NFL failed, for now, to shake off proposed class action claims by Hall of Famer Richard Dent and other retired players over the alleged distribution of drugs to keep them on the field, after the Northern District of California ruled that the league hasn’t shown federal labor law bars the claims.

The league unsuccessfully argued the Labor Management Relations Act preempts the players’ claims that the NFL voluntarily assumed a duty to ensure proper record keeping, administration, and distribution of medications, the court said, denying its motion to dismiss.

But the league isn’t foreclosed from raising the issue again ...