MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — NFL owners are asking a federal court in Minnesota to dismiss the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Attorneys for the owners filed the motion on Monday, the same day their response to the players’ lawsuit was due.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson has scheduled a hearing on the motion for Sept. 12, which is four days after the scheduled start of the NFL regular season.
Nelson initially ruled the owners’ lockout of the players was illegal. That ruling has been appealed to the 8th Circuit in St. Louis, where a three-judge panel heard arguments on Friday and is considering the matter.
The NFL and its players held settlement discussions in Chicago last week, but there is no sign that a new collective bargaining agreement is imminent.
