MINNEAPOLIS -- David Doty, the U.S. District Judge who directed numerous NFL labor matters in his Minneapolis courtroom and made a 1992 ruling that paved the way for modern free agency, has died. He was 96.
District of Minnesota officials announced that Doty died Saturday, three days before his birthday. No cause was given.
"Judge Doty devoted his life to public service and the law, presiding over NFL-related litigation for many years during his distinguished career," the league said in a statement issued after his death. "We express our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues."
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the federal bench in 1987, Doty gained senior status in 1998 and continued to handle cases until a few months before his death. After serving six years in the Marines, Doty earned his law degree in 1961 from the University of Minnesota before 26 years in private practice.
U.S. District Judge David S. Doty. Courtesy U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota He presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases during his judicial career, including several landmark NFL management-union disputes with a down-to-earth and pleasant demeanor that could turn stern if he felt the lawyers arguing in front of him needed to be redirected.
"Judge Doty devoted his entire professional life to serving others -- as a Marine, as a lawyer who served not only clients but his community in many ways, and as a U.S. District Judge for nearly four decades," Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said. "Despite his remarkable accomplishments, he was a genuinely humble man. He treated everyone -- from the guy who shined his shoes to justices of the U.S. Supreme Court -- the same way: with kindness and compassion and a sincere interest in their lives. I will particularly miss his sense of humor. He always had a smile on his face."
After a 1987 player strike that interrupted the regular season, the NFL Players Association filed suit over the league's restrictive rules around free agency, and Doty was assigned to the case.
Urging both parties to continue bargaining, Doty initially sided with the NFL by refusing to turn loose some 300 players from their teams onto the open market. In 1990, however, he granted them freedom to pursue individual antitrust cases against the league.
In 1992, the limited free agency system the owners had implemented in absence of a collective bargaining agreement -- "Plan B" allowed teams to protect 37 players from signing elsewhere -- was struck down by a jury of eight women.