Lawsuit By Former Milwaukee Brewer Ruf Is Latest In Line Of Field Safety Cases
Photo byOn May 22, 2025, Darin Ruf, a former utility player for the Milwaukee Brewers and several other clubs, sued the Cincinnati Reds in an Ohio state court arising out of an allegedly career-ending knee injury that Ruf suffered at the Reds' Great American Ball Park on June 2, 2023. Ruf injured his knee when he ran into the end of the rolled up tarp chasing a foul ball down the first base line which, according to Ruf, was not properly padded. Ruf's case is the latest in a series of cases brought by both MLB and NFL players concerning injuries suffered due to field conditions. Those lawsuits have a mixed record of success against the leagues' argument that the lawsuits are preempted by the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with the players unions.
The Preemption Playbook
All of the major American sports leagues have negotiated comprehensive CBAs with their counterpart unions which address a wide range of issues affecting the terms and conditions of employment for the players. Those CBAs also require that should there be a dispute as to whether the league, a club, a union, or a player abided by their obligations under the CBA, such dispute be settled through a confidential arbitration process. As a result, in each league, dozens of grievances are commenced and resolved each year, typically without any public awareness.
Nonetheless, players have occasionally brought lawsuits against a league or clubs in state or federal courts for conduct which they have argued is not covered by the CBA. The leagues and clubs involved seek to have the cases dismissed, arguing that claims are preempted (i.e., barred) by the CBA, pursuant to the federal Labor Management Relations Act. Indeed, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has also taken a broad view in favor of the preemption argument.
In the 1985 case of Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, the Supreme Court established the controlling principal on this issue, holding that claims whose resolution are 'substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of' a CBA are preempted. In other words, claims that are 'inextricably intertwined' with the terms and provisions of the CBA cannot proceed. Instead, such claims must be brought pursuant to the arbitration provisions contained in the CBA. The intended and frequent result is the dismissal of the claims.
Preemption in Practice
The cases that have presented the most difficulty for leagues (and courts) are those like Ruf's, where a player has alleged that they suffered an injury due to negligently maintained field conditions.
One of the most well-known cases concerns former NFL running back Reggie Bush. In 2016, Bush sued the St. Louis Rams and their stadium authority when, at the conclusion of a play, he slipped and fell on a concrete surface surrounding the turf playing field causing a knee injury. A federal court denied the Rams' arguments that Bush's claims were preempted by the CBA. The court held that although at the time the NFL and NFLPA had a 'Joint Committee for the purpose of discussing, among other things, the player safety and welfare aspects of playing equipment, playing surfaces, and stadium facilities[,] [t]he Joint Committee d[id] not have the power to commit or bind any of the signatories to the CBA… nor does the CBA establish a contractually agreed upon standard of care applicable to Plaintiff's claims.' In 2020, a jury awarded Bush $12.5 million for the injury which effectively ended his career.
The same decision was reached the following year in a case brought by then Philadelphia Eagles player and now Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans after Ryans injured his Achilles tendon due to what he alleged was a dangerous playing surface at the Texans' NRG Stadium. A Texas state court held that it did not need to analyze the CBA to evaluate Ryans' negligence claim and it was therefore not preempted.
Whether in response to these legal losses or not, the NFL changed certain of its practices in such a way to seemingly avoid similar litigation in the future. As part of the 2020 CBA, the NFL and NFLPA added a section establishing and discussing the responsibilities of the joint NFL-NFLPA Field Surface Safety & Performance Committee. In short, that Committee is responsible for establishing and enforcing playing field standards, codified as the Field Surface Manual.
The scope of that Committee was relevant in a 2023 lawsuit brought by former Denver Broncos linebacker Aaron Patrick. During the October 17, 2022 Monday Night Football game between the Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, Patrick, after trying to make a tackle near the sideline on a punt, tripped over television cables and mats and collided with the NFL's television liaison, the person responsible for coordinating commercial breaks. Unfortunately, Patrick, an undrafted second year player, tore his ACL in the process. Patrick recovered and participated in the Broncos' training camp the next year but did not make the team.
Patrick sued the NFL, ESPN, the Chargers, the entities that own and operate SoFi Stadium, and others, in California state court for negligence and premises liability. A federal court granted a motion to dismiss by the NFL and the Chargers based on preemption, holding that 'resolution of Patrick's claims, and specifically determination of the scope of each defendant's duty and potential liability, would require interpretation of the CBA,' including the Field Surface Manual.
Baseball too has faced such cases. In June 2017, in the first inning of his Major League debut, New York Yankees' outfielder Dexter Fowler injured his knee when it hit a metal electrical box along the right field wall in foul territory at the Chicago White Sox's Guaranteed Rate Field. Fowler sued the Illinois Sports Facility Authority, which managed the stadium, and the White Sox for alleged negligence.
The defendants sought to have the case dismissed on preemption grounds. Specifically, they argued that Fowler's claim required interpretation of Article XIII of the CBA, which established a joint MLB-MLB Players Association (MLBPA) Safety and Health Advisory Committee 'to deal with emergency safety and health problems as they arise' and 'to engage in review of, planning for and maintenance of safe and healthful working conditions for Players.'
An Illinois federal court was not persuaded. It held that Fowler's claims were not preempted by Article XIII because that Article 'leaves no doubt that the clubs were in a vastly better position than the Committee to assess the safety of their own premises. [Moreover,] [t]he clubs did not give up any control over their premises to the Committee, nor did they even grant it any consistent supervisory role.' In sum, the court concluded that it did not need to consult the CBA to evaluate the White Sox's duty of care to Fowler and his claims were therefore not preempted. The case subsequently settled.
The Reds' At Bat
The Reds will likely move to dismiss the case on preemption but face an uphill battle in light of the Fowler decision, even though it is not binding precedent on an Ohio state court. The 2022 CBA between MLB and the MLBPA did not add any additional field safety obligations for either party. MLB declined to comment on whether it has negotiated a field safety manual with the union, a la the NFL and NFLPA.
Should the Reds lose that argument, they would then most likely be in the position of having to evaluate whether its employees were in fact negligent in rolling and covering up the tarp and all of its parts. Such claims would typically have to be decided by a jury. Were the case to make it that far, the Reds would face significant financial risk. Although Ruf was 37 years of age at the time of the injury, he had a $3 million salary in 2023 and thus any lost career earnings would still have been significant (an issue faced by doctors accused of medical malpractice by athletes).
Expect the Reds to take a swing at the preemption argument first. If they miss, the club (and its insurer) will likely seek to end the matter with a settlement rather than serving up a home run during a jury trial.
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