Precedent:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=5201702
“We do not condone the conduct on the part of the Patriots and the team’s head coach, and we likewise refrain from assessing whether the NFL’s sanctions [and its alleged destruction of the videotapes themselves] were otherwise appropriate,” Senior Judge Robert E. Cowen wrote for the three-judge panel.
However, he said Mayer failed to prove any legal right to damages.
“At best, he possessed nothing more than a contractual right to a seat from which to watch an NFL game between the Jets and the Patriots, and this right was clearly honored,” Cowen wrote.””””
Is there a difference between buying a ticket for a plane or a seat at a stadium? I should say not. Can the NFL remove a fan who was simply watching the game, and put their employees there?
Since you brought up that case, I’ll have to comment on it. Most coaches said that the Patriots got no advantage from the taping. The issue wasn’t the taping, but the position of the camera. Coach B was heavily fined because he was the GM as well as the coach, and he was explicitly told not to use that particular camera position in writing. He thought he had a loophole and that it was a trivial matter.