In Terence ( Terry ) McDonough’s case for unlawful retaliation and related allegations against the Cardinals and owner Michael Bidwill, former Arizona Cardinals VP of player personnel and former NBA chief legal officer, Jeffrey Mishkin and the arbitrator decided in a split decision.
While Mishkin found McDonough failed to prove immoral retribution, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, he established the Cardinals, through an outdoor public relations strong, defamed McDonough.
After learning that his Cardinals ‘ lease would not be renewed, McDonough requested arbitration from the NFL last season. The NFL is responsible for resolving disputes between professionals and their teams, as detailed in the workplace litigations involving the league, NFL career contracts, and club constitution. That strategy aims to avoid litigation in court.

McDonough thinks the Cardinals let him leave because he opposed heater devices in 2018. After GM Steve Keim admitted to a DUI command, the crew had suspended him. Burner devices were exchanged with Keim while McDonough and another Cardinals officials were in contact with him during his suspension. McDonough accused the Cardinals and Bidwill of breaching his deal, age discrimination, legal crime and other states.
In response, the Cardinals made a PR agency hire, which detailed McDonough’s character as a father and as a person in a long and ostensibly insulting statement. The declaration contained:
· Vague recommendations to McDonough’s “difficulties in his private life and his usually dangerous demeanor toward acquaintances”.
· A declare to “disturbing claims of extraordinary domestic violence by Terry”.
The statement that” we received a spontaneous overture from a close family member of Terry” and that he was” concerned and perplexed” by “recent changes in Terry’s behaviour” and that he had “abandoned duty” to one of his kids and cut her off economically was made. He described the hardship and individual harm their family was going through as a result of Terry’s portrayal of his good Dad as” all really a ruse.”
a research to” threats of violence against a colleague at a frequently attended Christmas party for co-workers.”
McDonough claimed that the team defamed him by claiming that he had given up caring for his specific needs child financially. He even said the statement he engaged in “extreme home murder” was completely untrue. A disparaging speech is a misleading statement about a person that hurts their reputation.
Mishkin emphasized the lack of proof that McDonough acted in those hateful way. McDonough claimed he had written a letter regarding moving to North Carolina so that his daughter could attend school five days before the Cardinals accused him of abandoning her special-needs child.

McDonough added that since they were in possession of” of emails discussing the amount of child support necessary for McDonough’s daughter’s care, as well as a court order,” McDonough claimed that he “had no responsibility for support” and that the Cardinals knew he had n’t financially cut off his daughter.
Another issue for the Cardinals concerned the therefore- called” close family member” cause. That cause, Mishkin explained, was a email sent by McDonough’s past father- in- rules, Stan Kavan, to Larry Fitzgerald in 2018.
Mishkin argued that it is “undoubtedly a stretch” to refer to a previous in-law as a close family member, especially since they may not be a natural speaker and may be biased against McDonough. Some phrases that were n’t in Kavan’s letter were also used by the Cardinals as passages. Mishkin critiqued the Cardinals for “fully” adopting and endorsing Kavan’s claims as “details” of McDonough’s character when they were untested charges.
In his 62- site purchase, Mishkin at times criticized McDonough, who is from a popular athletics family including his parents, the later Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough, and sons ESPN broadcaster Sean McDonough and past Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough. By emailing an NFL blogger, McDonough discovered last year that he had breached the anonymity of the mediation process.
The arbiter also found some of McDonough’s constitutional claims unconvincing. McDonough’s failure to establish a direct relationship between his cancellation five years later and his objections to using a heater telephone in 2018 was not established. ” To the contrary”, Mishkin wrote,” the overpowering evidence suggests that Mr. McDonough was relieved of his obligations as a result of a personnel choice made by the Cardinals ‘ new general manager, Monti Ossenfort”.
Mishkin was likewise unconvinced by McDonough’s tale that he was on the verge of becoming a common director but is now “unemployable” as a result of the Cardinals ‘ PR speech. According to McHugh, the statistics tell a unique account. McDonough had been fired half by the Cardinals during that stretch of time and had only been in one GM work between 2017 and 2023.
Mishkin acknowledged former Carolina Panthers and New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman’s evidence on McDonough’s representative. No one in sports is always likely to consider hiring Terry, according to Gettleman, who echoed his claim that Terry “allowed” his special needs daughter. However, Mishkin claimed that Gettleman was obscuring McDonough’s demotions from# 2 to# 7 in the front office, demotions that would have stifled another team from hiring McDonough.
McDonough sought$ 60 million to$ 90 million in disciplinary problems, which are intended to hinder others from doing the same wrongdoing. As a similar event, McDonough cited E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump. Carroll, an author, established that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and then defamed her while he was President of the U. S. ( Trump denies wrongdoing and has appealed ). In a situation McDonough claimed featured “facts that resemble those in the matter at hand,” a judge awarded Carroll$ 18.3 million in punitive damages and$ 65 million in punitive damage.
Mishkin thought then. He concluded a more suitable measurement for disciplinary problems, given expected process needs, is three times McDonough’s punitive damages.
Mishkin awarded McDonough$ 2.25 million in punitive damages, along with$ 600, 000 for emotional distress and$ 150, 000 for harm to reputation. However, he ordered McDonough to pay the Cardinals$ 20,000 as a penalty for violating a confidentiality order and$ 20,000 in Cardinals ‘ legal fees to defend his contract-based claims unsuccessfully. McDonough’s online damage award is$ 2.955 million.
McDonough and/or the Cardinals may ask a judge to overturn the mediation decision, but federal laws requires a judge to give close consideration when reevaluating an arbitration decision. Mishkin’s legal argument is heavily detailed and supported by authority, data and witness. If either part problems him, they’d experience an uphill struggle.