Arizona Cardinals must pay former executive $3 million for 'defamatory” statements

An NFL arbitrator has ruled that the Arizona Cardinals must pay $3 million to former team executive Terry McDonough for “false and defamatory” statements the team made about him to the media, according to multiple reports on Monday.

The decision, reached Friday by arbitrator Jeffrey Mishkin and filed in federal court on Monday, determined Cardinals team owner Michael Bidwill defamed McDonough “with malice” in a lengthy statement to media organizations that accused McDonough of spousal abuse and neglect of his disabled daughter, allegations McDonough has denied.

McDonough, who rose to the rank of vice president of player personnel with the Cardinals, was relieved of his duties in January 2003 by Bidwill. McDonough filed an arbitration complaint to the NFL against Bidwill and the franchise three months later.

According to ESPN, McDonough’s attorney, Mike Caspino, filed the decision is U.S. District Court in Arizona on Monday as part of his client’s request to confirm the $3 million award.

“Despite what we consider to be a fundamentally unfair arbitration process, Terry McDonough is the first person ever to win against an NFL owner,” Caspino said in a statement obtained by ESPN. “Why the NFL has not held Michael Bidwill accountable remains a mystery.”

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McDonough, per the arbitration ruling, initially sought $15 million in lost future earnings, $10 million for emotional distress, $10 million for reputational harm, and between $60-90 million in punitive damages. Mishkin awarded him $150,000 in general damages for “harm to his reputation” caused by the defamatory statements, $600,000 in damages for emotional distress caused by those statements, and $2.25 million in punitive damages.

Additionally, Mishkin found the Cardinals did, as McDonough alleged, use burner phones to illegally communicate with then-general manager Steve Keim, who was suspended after pleading guilty to an extreme DUI charge, but did not find evidence the Cardinals’ action to terminate McDonough prevented him from being hired as a general manager in the league.

The Republic reached out to the Cardinals for comment, and the team sent the following response:

“We are pleased with the arbitrator's decision dismissing all of Terry McDonough's employment claims and finding that there was nothing improper about his dismissal from the team. As for Mr. McDonough's other claim, we respect the arbitrator’s determination that our initial statement went too far. We accept responsibility for that statement and are grateful that the arbitration is now resolved.”