Cowboys Innocent Act in Practice Bubble Collapse Getting Tough to Swallow
The Dallas Cowboys are beginning to look like pure heartless corporate jerks as regards the collapse of their practice facility in a windstorm last month, an incident that left a team employee paralyzed for life:
The Dallas Cowboys knew when they hired Summit Structures LLC to build their now-ruined practice facility that a similar fabric structure built by the company for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority had collapsed in a storm, according to a port official.
Greg Iannarelli, the port authority’s chief counsel, said he was contacted by Cowboys official Bruce Mays not long after a warehouse built by Summit for the port collapsed during a snowstorm in February 2003. Iannarelli said the Cowboys were considering using Summit and were concerned.
“My recollection is they wanted to know what happened, and we weren’t sure at the time,” he told The Associated Press.
Summit, based in Allentown, Pa., received permission from the City of Irving to begin construction on the Cowboys’ facility in July 2003. The 88,000-square-foot building fell in high winds last month, leaving a scouting assistant paralyzed from the waist down and injuring 11 others less severely.
The story goes on to point out that the Cowboys actually had the roof replaced on the bubble at one point, and were actively dealing with the company to resolve any other remaining issues. So why were they still using the bubble? Why didn’t somebody look at a weather report and realize it was going to be windy? They were negligent, pure and simple. The injured scout deserves a hefty settlement – at least as much as Jerry Jones has spent on plastic surgery, maybe more.
This was nothing short of gross negligence on the Cowboys’ part.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:47 pm