Atkinson v. Noll: The Criminal Element
The National Football League in the 1960s is viewed by some as the most iconic time for the sport, as it was decade in which professional football was coming of age from a pastime with a modest following to a full fledged spectacle watched by millions of fans every Sunday. Television, NFL Films, competition and the eventual merger with the American Football League and stars with relatable personalities gave professional football the opportunity to show it’s viewers that it was the sport of the future.
But while the 60s may have been the period in which pro football had outgrown it’s humble beginnings, many would argue that the 1970s is the most influential decade in pro football, as the transformations in the NFL during this time gave birth to the League’s identity and foreshadowed what the game would turn into, and what problems would deter the League on it’s course to dominance.
One such transformation would be the progression of the athlete himself, as the speed, size and strength of these players had greatly advanced over the course of a single decade. Others will take note of the rule changes that favored the running game and the bruising bump and run tactics that defenses used to punish receivers. Some may even pay particular attention to the “professional” in professional football and think about how the game became a big business venture, as unions, front office negotiators and lawyers were becoming as prevalent as the athletes.
Nothing about the NFL in the 1970s may be more memorable, however, than that of the rivalry between the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers, for it redefined what a rivalry was in professional football and did more to contribute to football’s combative spirit and gritty image of the than anything else in the League’s history.
This fierce rivalry, producing unforgettable games that left both teams black and blue, wasn’t only fought on the gridiron, however, for the bad blood would spill into the court room for libel case between Raider’s safety George Atkinson II, and Steeler’s head coach Chuck Noll.
This suit, filed as Atkinson V. Noll, remains relevant for serval reasons, for in encompassed all the mentioned transformations that set precedent for the modern game. Most notably, it was the first time that a franchise in the NFL had filed a lawsuit against another franchise, a standard which would lay the groundwork for future intraleague disputes that would define the NFL in the early to mid 80s. It also raised questions about football’s inherent violence, blurring the lines between hard hitting football and being a “dirty player,” and argument that continues to be voiced by contemporary critics. It also brought to the spotlight the way professional football players were perceived as indestructible and destructive brutes to the public, a notion that remains present, albeit in different forms.
As many know, the rivalry between these two franchises stems from the notorious Immaculate Reception play in the AFC 1972 Divisional game in which Steeler’s running back Franco Harris caught the deflected ball and ran 60 yards into the end zone for a touchdown as time expired, giving the Steelers their first playoff win in their history. The aftermath of this game ignited a physical and vicious rivalry, as both teams were lauded for their aggressive defense, powerful running game and tough-as-nails quarterback play.
By the beginning of the 1976 season, the Steelers-Raiders strife favored Pittsburgh, as they defeated the Raiders in both the 1974 and 1975 AFC Championship games on their way to winning a pair of Super Bowl titles. On opening day of 1976, the Steelers, again favored to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, traveled to Oakland for another backbreaking challenge against the formidable foe, only this time, the Raiders would get the last laugh in a 31-28 victory.
The Raiders victory, however, would be overshadowed by a single play that would further the feud between the bitter rivals.
Late in the first half, Steeler’s All-Pro wide receiver Lynn Swann, running a pattern to the middle of the field, was unanticipatedly cracked with the forearm to the base of his helmet by strong safety George Atkinson 15 yards away from the play. The play went unnoticed by the referees, and therefore no flag was thrown. The national audience, however, would see the hit in slow motion replay several more times. Atkinson, having also knocked Lynn Swann out the AFC Championship with a concussion one year prior, had no qualms about the hit, feeling that his hit was within the rules of the game.
The Steelers, in particular head coach Chuck Noll, felt differently about the play. Noll, a rather understated and reserved man, censored none of his thoughts on the subject at a press conference the Monday after the game. “You have a criminal element in all aspects of society,” said Noll, “Apparently we have it in the NFL too. Maybe we have a law-and-order problem.” Noll went so far as to suggest that Atkinson be “kicked out of the league.”
Now that Noll had expressed in anger publicly, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was fielding phone calls and responding to written letters regarding Atkinson’s hit on Swann. Having been briefed by his assistant who attended the game in Oakland, Rozelle was made aware of the postgame confrontations between Noll and the Raiders, and ordered a clip of the film to determine just how vicious the hit was. According to Sports Illustrated, Rozelle sent a letter to Atkinson after watching the play on film:
In sixteen years in this office I do not recall a more flagrant foul than your clubbing the back of Swann's head totally away from the play.... Our sport obviously involves intense physical contact, but it requires of all players discipline and control and remaining within the rules. Every player deserves protection from the kind of unnecessary roughness that could end his career.
Rozelle reprimanded Atkinson further by administering a $1,500 fine. Additionally, he also issued Chuck Noll a $1,000 fine for his “criminal element” remarks, and sent him, along with Raiders head coach John Madden, a letter of concern over this increasingly volatile rivalry:
A full review of the available films and television tapes of your Sept. 12 game indicates that your 'intense rivalry' of recent years could be on the verge of erupting into something approaching pure violence. There is, of course, no place for that in professional football and you both know it.... Aside from the specific incidents of flagrant action, there are any number of plays in which the actions of many of your players can be questioned. No action was taken in these instances because reasonable doubt exists in my mind as to the intent and motivation of the individuals involved...."
Sports Illustrated went on to describe Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney’s angry response to the Commissioner’s punishment handed down to Noll:
He charged there had been "direct, premeditated, unemotional efforts by the Oakland Raiders to seriously injure Lynn Swann" and went on to say, "I believe it is a cowardly act to hit someone from behind with his back turned. I also believe, because of the number of Oakland Raider players making such attacks on Lynn, the Raiders must have an opinion that Lynn is vulnerable and can be forced out of the game, which makes such acts premeditated and involves the Raiders' coaching staff as well as the players." Rooney sent along a film clip to prove exactly how brutal the Raiders had been in their assaults on Swann.
On the west coast, the Raider organization was no more immune to the criticism as one would expect. The Oakland Tribune went so far as to condemn Atkinson hit as “dirty football.” Raider’s owner and general manager Al Davis fought back against the newspaper, claiming the media had blown the incident way out of proportion. Though Davis made it seem like this was a minor dilemma, he and Atkinson were preparing to file a lawsuit against Chuck Noll. In his book, The League, David Harris quotes Al Davis as saying, “Chuck Noll had condemned certain individuals playing for the Oakland Raiders and labeled them ‘criminals’ and I felt it was important that we get rid of that label.”
The label of being a criminal did not sit well with Atkinson, for in 1975, Atkinson was brought to trial on charges of embezzlement and larceny when he allegedly persuaded two female bank tellers to steal over $3,000 dollars from two separate banks in Alameda County. By April of 1976, however, Atkinson was acquitted on both counts, and it was rumored that Al Davis paid the bill for Atkinson’s defense during the trial.
Atkinson officially filed a libel suit against Noll for $2 million, though many within the NFL felt this was just as much about Al Davis vs. the NFL, seeing as the Rooney family was closely aligned with Rozelle during his tenure as commissioner, while Al Davis fought Rozelle tooth and nail at every given opportunity. Al Davis refuted this opinion, but Dan Rooney maintained that this was not a unique case, as it was the first time an NFL team had sued another, leading Dan Rooney to point out that, “It set a precedent.”
The trial wouldn’t commence until 1977, about six months after the Oakland Raiders achieved their first Super Bowl victory. Once the time had arrived on July, 11 in San Francisco’s Federal Building, all thoughts were focused on the trial, with both parties securing reputable attorneys. Representing Noll and the Steelers was James Martin MacInnis, a northern California defense attorney who a couple years earlier had represented newspaper heiress Patty Hearst following her departure from the Symbionese Liberation Army. Atkinson and the Raiders were represented by Willie Brown, the Democrat whip in the California Assembly and future mayor of San Francisco.
Opening statements began with MacInnes saying, “Mr. Atkinson may be a charming young man. You may safely invite him to your drawing room, to your home. But you may not with equal safety encounter him past the line of scrimmage on a football field, particularly if your name is Lynn Swann and your back is turned.” He continued to say that the hit on Swann was an “illegal act” and in clear violation of the NFL rules, and elaborated on the nature on the sport:
Professional football, as outlined this afternoon, may appear as a primitive game to those who do not follow it. It may appear as gang warfare conducted in uniform, and it may be a lure to all that is violent within any one of us. But there are rules, and without those rules in football the strong would devour the weak and professional football would destroy itself within a short period of time.
Willie Brown, known for his debonair sense of style, made no equivocation in his opening statements that he believed Noll’s “criminal element” remark was an attempt to ruin Atkinson’s career, and furthermore put the violent nature of pro football under the microscope. Brown stated,
This is opening pro football's Watergate. Pro football is on trial here. If the jury rules that Atkinson is not slandered by being called part of 'a criminal element' then the term 'criminal' has been judicially certified as a viable, proper, accurate definition of the game. After this, every time a player is injured in a play where there is an intentional foul, he could bring a criminal suit for assault. Hell, you could bring a class action suit against showing the 'criminal' violence of football on TV. Pro football could be X-rated. I did my best to convince the NFL to settle out of court, but they wouldn't pull out."
It was clear to the jury that neither side would be willing settle, as Willie Brown referenced Dan Rooney’s refusal of the advice offered from his insurance company to pay Atkinson $50,000 for Noll’s comments. Sports Illustrated reported that the case, “seemed, at times, to be aimed mainly at proving in court whether the Steelers or the Raiders were the dirtiest team in football.”
The case against the Steelers, however, would strengthen in the cross examination of Chuck Noll. Prior to the trial, Al Davis’ assistant, Al LoCasale, was assigned to collect footage of the most violent collisions in NFL games. Once Noll was at the stand, Atkinson’s legal team compiled a series of vicious hits by Steeler players, and was asked if he considered any of those hits by his own players part of the “criminal element.”
Noll, having a few years of law school under his belt, exchanged sarcastic dialogue for hours before admitting that a few of his own players could be considered part of the “criminal element,” including Steelers defensive lineman “Mean” Joe Greene and Ernie Homes and cornerbacks Mel Blount and Glenn Edwards (Blount, having won NFL Defensive Player of the Year, filed a $5 million lawsuit against Noll and threatened to sit out the entire 1977 season over these remarks before dropping the suit once he signed a new contract).
Following Noll’s statements, several players on both teams took a seat at the witnessed stand, including Lynn Swann, who expressed his emotions following Atkinson’s hit: “I had no great desire to play further football. I thought other teams would now come after my head even more than before. I felt that those conditions would not be conducive to my good health.”
George Atkinson also made his feelings known about the label during questioning:
A cheap-shot artist or a dirty ballplayer—I mean, how many guys are not called that sometime in their career? But to be called an Assassin or the Enforcer or someone that plays with the intention to maim—because of one play, one incident in the nine years I played football, I'm labeled for the rest of my life, you know?
Atkinson would then refute the question from MacInnis that this label would not bring Atkinson favorable publicity, saying, "There are two types of publicity. Charles Manson received publicity. Sirhan Sirhan received publicity. The publicity I'm receiving is a direct result of the statements of Coach Chuck Noll.”
The time had arrived when Al Davis and Pete Rozelle would take the stand that furthered the conspiracy that this courtroom display was inevitably part of a larger feud between commissioner Rozelle and Davis, who by now was openly an outcast within the NFL’s ownership circle and a staunch underminer to Rozelle’s agenda.
Davis, dressed in a dead-black suit with a silver tie, expressed his view that every player assumes a risk once he steps onto the football field, and described the “paradox” he sees in the game: “…there are some things that are legal that are more violent than things that are illegal. Our problem is to confront this.”
Rozelle, having answered concerns and questions on the matter in the year leading up to the testimony, agreed to take the stand to defend the League’s image and to uphold his own integrity as commissioner, for Al Davis and Atkinson’s legal representation repeatedly accused Rozelle of colluding with the Rooney’s to dismantle Davis and the Raiders.
In response to these accusation, Rozelle affirmed that he and the Rooney’s were “close acquaintances.” While Rozelle did admit to speaking with Dan Rooney between fourteen and eighteen times in the months leading up to the trial, Rozelle replied, “I have more communication with Pittsburgh than Oakland because I get the impression the Oakland organization isn’t interested in having much contact with the League office.” Rozelle also stated that he didn’t think that there was a criminal element in the NFL, and believed that this incident would enhance the value of George Atkinson notoriety, whom Rozelle considered an “outstanding defensive back.”
The closing arguments were nothing less than theatrical. Brown, abiding by the “us-versus-them” ethos embodied in the Raider organization, claimed the NFL was an American force "second only to the U.S. government in terms of power, scope and potential,” and described Atkinson as a “rag-tag kid brawling with the establishment,” ending with the declaration that Noll and the Rooney should be held accountable for the damage they’ve done to Atkinson’s name.
MacInnis countered by bringing up Atkinson’s previous legal troubles, question weather or not Atkinson had a good reputation to begin with. To end his monologue, MacInnis, when referring to the satisfaction from the Oakland fanbase after Atkinson’s hit, stated, "I think that's a sad commentary on the motives of our generation.... It's sadistic, this secret love of violence, the spectacle of liking to see others hurt, happiness at pain, enthralled by the love of blood. That's the America of George Atkinson."
After the 10-day trial, the jury deliberated for four hours and ruled in favor of Noll and the Steelers. Atkinson would be awarded no damages, and the NFL owners who felt that Davis used this case as an assault on the League celebrated in the Raider’s defeat, though Dan Rooney would comment that the trial “had been the most depressing thing in my life.” Rozelle echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “the ugliness of it had stained everything in and everyone involved and may well continue to smear the NFL for a long time to come.”
While Atkinson v. Noll is overlooked compared to other high profile litigations the NFL has endured over time, it nonetheless highlighted the underlying commentary that would challenge football in respects to player safety, player image and the League’s growing role as an American enterprise that was not immune to toxic boardroom disputes. And while though the case may have had a contemporary impact on these same issues in the 70s and added flame to the fire of an already bitter rivalry, it’s legacy and impact is much more unremitting than it is given credit for.
references:
Harris, David. The League: the Rise and Decline of the NFL. Bantam Books, 1987.
Staff, SI. “A WALK ON THE SORDID SIDE - Sports Illustrated Vault.” SI.com, 1 Aug. 1977, vault.si.com/vault/1977/08/01/a-walk-on-the-sordid-side.