July 14, 2012 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
UPDATE: The league has cancelled this weekend’s matchup between the Connecticut Constitution and the Detroit Mechanix. Details to follow.
Earlier today, the Connecticut Constitution resumed operations after nearly a week off the field after being sued by the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). The team, a franchise of the AUDL, said in a statement that they will “continue to negotiate with the league on several outstanding issues,” but are resuming play in “good faith” that a compromise will be reached.
John Korber, the General Manager and Coach of the team, said that “there was a lot of dialogue between the owners and the league in the last couple of days” that led up to a decision to resume play. “None of the owners wants to be an obstacle that leads to the missing of games,” he added. “We want to make it clear that we’re trying to get games played.”
It is unclear whether progress has been made towards resolving the legal dispute, which is being discussed in private emails between team and league lawyers. Korber expressed optimism that there would be a settlement at some point, but had no time frame in mind.
The team said in an earlier statement that the cost of fighting the lawsuit “depleted [their] operational funds.”
The President of the AUDL, Josh Moore, suggested in an interview that the Constitution will need to rectify the “financial harm on both [Indianapolis] and Kentucky.” Korber said that earlier this week the league said “there would be fines due by teams that forfeit,” but has allowed the teams to self-determine appropriate penalties. The league has not spoken further on the situation and has not responded to a request for comment.
The Constitution (9-5) is set to face the Detroit Mechanix (6-8) on Saturday in New Bristol.
Disclosure: My friend and college roommate Husayn Carnegie plays for the Constitution.
