Court revives players’ lawsuit against NFL

A U.S. appeals court has revived a lawsuit against the NFL by former players who claim the league illegally plied them with powerful prescription painkillers to keep them on the field. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday the lawsuit is not pre-empted or superseded by labour agreements between players and teams. The NFL had argued the players failed to exhaust the grievance procedures in those agreements. The ruling overturned a lower-court decision that dismissed the lawsuit. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league still expects the lawsuit to be thrown out. The players said the NFL did not warn them about the long-term consequences of the drugs, which they said have left them with chronic health problems.