UFL QB Quentin Darmody believes his recent release was due to union activity

By Mike Florio

The start of the UFL’s second season continues to draw closer, despite lingering labor unrest.

There’s currently no Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the players are looking for more than the $55,000 base salary they received a year ago.

Last week, three unnamed players said they were threatened with termination if they boycotted the league’s media days. This week, a player who was fired by the UFL has gone on the record with a claim that the move arose from his union activities.

Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, quarterback Quentin Darmody believes he was let go by the Memphis Showboats due to his agitation on behalf of all players for a better deal.

“I think that was the driving factor,” Darmody said.

He contends that, on March 8, Memphis G.M. Jim Monos called to say Darmody was being released. Darmody said he got no explanation at the time. Darmody said that, during a meeting with Monos on March 9, Monos said the decision wasn’t based on the quarterback’s performance in training camp. Darmody said that, on March 10 he received a text that cited his “accuracy and footwork” for the move.

“They trade for me to come in and compete to be the starter,” Dormady told Seifert. “And then I get five practices to show that basically I’m not good enough to be on their team? It just seemed fishy.

“I’ve been very open about trying to help lead the negotiations here to get us to where we can get to a place to finish this and come to a resolution. But when we’re at a standstill because the league refuses to even meet us a third of the way, then there’s no good faith here. So I think that this was a deal where it’s like, let’s chop a head off and make this another way that they can threaten people.”

Although he’s officially gone from the UFL, Darmody isn’t going away quietly.

“They keep messing with the wrong guy,” Dormady told Seifert. “I’m not backing down, man. This goes far beyond playing football at this point. . . . What it’s always been about is, ‘Let’s just do what’s right.’ We’re not trying to sink anyone or the league or anything. We understand what the league’s done for us, but at the same time, they just continue to show who they are, and it ain’t about the players.”

Federal law provides protection against adverse employment action for union activity. If, as it currently appears, the players won’t strike, the players’ union can increase the heat on the league by pursuing legal relief on Darmody’s behalf.

The UFL denies Darmody’s allegations.

“Our teams engage in various player transactions during training camp, including free agent signings, moving players to injured reserve, waivers and terminations,” a UFL spokesperson told Seifert. “In fact, through eight days of camp, 24 players have been released. Any player transactions are purely the result of football decisions at the team level and have nothing to do with collective bargaining negotiations.”

That’s exactly what the UFL would say, even if the move was influenced by Darmody’s efforts to help the players get more. And if legal action is pursued, the lawyers representing Darmody’s interests would have an opportunity to fully explore any and all evidence (including text messages and emails) that would confirm Darmody’s suspicions or debunk the stated reasons for Darmody’s firing.