Mayfield battling not only NASCAR, but sports history

When Jeremy Mayfield sued NASCAR in an attempt to overturn his indefinite suspension stemming from an alleged failed drug test, he did more than just take on the sanctioning body and its army of lawyers. He also inserted himself into an arena where major American sports leagues rarely lose -- the courtroom.

Mayfield speaks out

Jeremy Mayfield describes his fight against suspension: "To say that the last two months have been two of the worst months of my entire life is an understatement."

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The temporary injunction won by Mayfield in U.S. District Court on July 1 -- an injunction that is currently being appealed by NASCAR -- may have lifted the driver's suspension, but it didn't resolve the suit Mayfield filed against NASCAR after he allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine in a random drug test more than two months ago. Should that suit go to trial, and should Mayfield win it, no doubt the result would have seismic ramifications for NASCAR, whose fledging random testing policy is under enough scrutiny as it is. But it would also be something of a rarity, given that big-time sports leagues have a track record in the courtroom almost as untouchable as Jimmie Johnson's at Martinsville Speedway.

Leagues like the NFL and Major League Baseball get sued all the time, sometimes by desperate attention-seekers, sometimes by other parties they're embroiled in petty arguments with, and sometimes by plaintiffs -- even their own athletes, on occasion -- who believe they have a legitimate gripe. As evidenced by NASCAR's own near-spotless legal record, the leagues prevail an overwhelming percentage of the time. Maybe it's because they hire better attorneys, maybe it's because it's difficult to find truly impartial judges and juries, maybe it's because they're very good at writing down standards and policies and adhering to them. Whatever the reason, it's difficult to find a truly game-changing victory by a plaintiff over a sports league of the magnitude that many believe a Mayfield victory would be.

It's happened, of course. In 1971 basketball star Spencer Haywood left the University of Detroit after his sophomore season and was signed by Seattle, in clear violation of an NBA rule barring players who have not completed at least four years of college from turning pro. Haywood filed an antitrust action against the NBA, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled 7-2 for Haywood and opened the door for underclassmen to begin entering the league. That's about as game-changing as it gets, a legal action that ultimately forces a sports league to change its rules, and the ramifications of which are still evident today.

But don't hold your breath looking for others. Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett sued the NFL for a similar reason in 2003, challenging the rule that prospective draftees must be at least three years removed from high school. Clarett won at the District Court level, but a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals -- which included current Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor -- upheld the NFL's age restriction, which still stands. So do the NBA's salary cap and rookie draft, targets of a failed 1994 antitrust suit filed by the league's own players' association. When it comes to sports leagues and lawsuits, those cases are the rule rather than the exception. Mayfield may have won his temporary injunction, but he's still a very long way from any kind of real victory. (Continued)