BREAKING NEWS!!!

The IFL has fired back against their former team the Roscoe Rush in a website posting on the IFL's homepage.  In the article, the IFL tries to assert that the decision was based "solely on their [Rush's] unhappiness with the league's decision to overturn the outcome of their game against the Blue Devils the week before."  However, in a series of emails responding to the league, Rush owner Brian Kelly and GM Rob Feltner make it abundantly clear that there were a multitude of reasons Roscoe arrived at this decision.  To quote a colloquialism, this was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

In the IFL article, the IFL states that the Commissioner "spent all of the following Sunday on the phone receiving testimonies from Brian Kelly of the Rush, Tom Hawkins of the Blue Devils and the game’s officials to conduct a full and complete investigation of the game in question" when, in actuality, the game film was never reviewed and testimony from Kelly was not officially obtained.  Also, according to reports, the game's head referee, Jeff Carr - a noted and respected Big Ten official, was interviewed by the IFL but his explanation regarding the stoppage of the game clock was twisted to infer that he believed the clock should have run out.  In a conversation with Kelly, Carr explained that he simply believed the clock should have continued to run.   With 16 seconds remaining, the Rush would have had ample time to get to the line and spike the ball, allowing their field goal unit to take the field and kick from the same spot that the eventual game winning kick was booted.

Later in the article, the IFL states that the Commissioner was well within his bounds to overturn the game.  League Owner Chris Chudada quoted the NFL rule on Commissioner's powers in an email to all teams under the UNFAIR ACTS rules digest.  He quoted Articles 1 and 3 of the rule, but left off Article 2, which contains the following language: "The Commissioner will not apply his authority under this section when a club registers a complaint concerning judgmental errors or routine errors of omission by game officials. Games involving such complaints will continue to stand as completed."

The IFL maintains that Brian Kelly refused to communicate via the phone, but instead chose to respond in emails.  According to Kelly and Feltner, Kelly chose this course of action so that there would be written record of the communications, as he felt he had already been lied to in a phone call by Chudada.  Furthermore, while the IFL article conveys that Chudada made "several attempts" to contact Kelly via phone, Kelly's phone records indicate only one phone call was placed.  

The IFL also contains a statement from Chudada that, in part, says "No one person or team is above the game, so we will not be bullied by an individual or team who threatens to quit just because they don’t agree with our decision.”  It has been well documented that the Rush never threatened to quit and that their decision was made public following their game Saturday.  

It is known that the article is being examined for libel, and that several statements of the IFL in the article can be demonstrated conclusively to be false.  Since the article is published on a freely available, no-registration-needed website and makes the assertions as indelible truth, the examination is underway for possible legal ramifications.

Attempts to contact the league board for clarification on this situation have not been returned, ironically.

To read the complete article, follow the link below.  The article has been further archived here at WSP for posterity. 

"Rush Shows True Colors, Quits League"