Tag: Michael Bidwill

Has Michael Bidwill stepped back a little bit?

He was not present for the contract signing of Marvin Harrison Jr., which was odd.

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is known as a hands-on owner. He regularly meets with the general manager and head coach to ask questions about how things are working. He has traditionally been part of the draft evaluation team when meeting with prospects. When high-profile free agents and high draft picks sign, he has almost always been the one who sits down with the player to sign the contract.

Something different happened this week when top draft pick, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. signed his deal.

Bidwill was not there. It was general manager Monti Ossenfort who sat down with Harrison for the deal.

Bidwill would always be there for his top draft pick signing.

Is this a sign that he is backing away from the football operations a bit and letting Ossenfort be the face of that? Or was it simply timing? The NFL held its spring league meeting in Nashville May 20-22. Perhaps Bidwill had other commitments.

With the meetings being over and Harrison signing his deal on the 23rd, it simply looks like Bidwill is moving into the background.

He has certainly taken heat over the past few years for the way he runs things.

If he is truly stepping back and letting the front office take the spotlight, this is huge. He grew up around players. Running the team is his identity. It is a big deal and shows his dedication to trying to make the team and organization better, if this is what is happening.

We will see over time if this is the case.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Potential NFL punishment for burner phone situation not cut-and-dry

The Cardinals never denied the phones, only saying that Michael Bidwill shut things down when he learned the scheme existed.

The Arizona Cardinals saw their arbitration case filed by former team executive Terry McDonough end with a ruling ordering them to pay McDonough $3 million for defamatory comments they made about him after he filed the grievance.

That book is closed on the case, but now many wonder if the NFL will dole out any punishment for the Cardinals.

After all, the event that more or less began the events leading to McDonough’s grievance was a scheme to cheat in a way.

When Steve Keim, then the general manager, was suspended by the team in 2018 following is arrest and guilty plea for extreme DUI, a time in which he was to have zero contact with the team, McDonough alleges that burner phones were used to maintain contact with Keim.

He claimed that when he voiced his opposition and discomfort for it, owner Michael Bidwill became very angry with him.

However, the team never denied the existence of those burner phones. In the Cardinals’ response, Bidwill did not know about it and, when he did, he shut it down immediately.

During arbitration, according to Dan Bickley for Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Keim testified that the burner phones were actually McDonough’s idea.

That’s where things get tricky.

The league did not issue the suspension. Per the team, Bidwill shut down things once he was aware of it, so, at least in the eyes of the league, the team proactively punished Keim for driving drunk and then shut down a scheme to, in essence, cheat the suspension.

It wasn’t a salary cap violation or tampering. It wasn’t videotaping opponents’ practices. It wasn’t bounties for injuring players. It wasn’t deflating balls in secret.

Could the league fine the team? Sure. But in a he said, he said battle of claims between the team and McDonough where his original claims were all dismissed, it would make it easy for the league to do nothing.

It can rest on the perception that Bidwill didn’t do anything wrong and even shut down the scheme, casting the best possible light on one of the league’s owners.

If you think it is certain the Cardinals will lose draft picks over this, you might be surprised. It certainly isn’t a guarantee.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals ordered to pay former VP Terry McDonough $3M for defamation

The NFL arbitrator dismissed McDonough’s original claim but awarded him money for what the Cardinals said about him after the claim.

According to ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, an NFL arbitrator has ruled that the Arizona Cardinals must pay former executive Terry McDonough $3 million for “false and defamatory” statements the team released to the public.

However, McDonough’s other original claims of unlawful retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy were dismissed.

McDonough’s claimed that he was retaliated against when the team allegedly had temporary “burner” phones to communicate with general manager Steve Keim in the summer of 2018 during his team-imposed suspension for a DUI arrest. McDonough said he expressed that he was not comfortable with doing it.

What is interesting is that the arbitrator found that the team did use burner phones, which might cause the league to dole out a punishment to the organization.

However, it was not found that the Cardinals prevented McDonough from getting a GM job elsewhere.

What led to the $3 million ruling were the statements the Cardinals released publicly about McDonough.

The ruling said the Cardinals “published the defamatory statements with actual malice.”

McDonough sought more than $100 million from the Cardinals for lost wages, emotional distress, reputational harm and punitive damages.

The ultimate award is broken down as $150,000 in general harm to his reputation, $600,000 for emotional distress and $2.25 million in punitive damages.

Now we get to wait and see if the league will punish the Cardinals for what they did.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill takes another hit with report on workplace culture

The Athletic spoke with more than a dozen current and former employees about the Cardinals’ workplace culture.

The Arizona Cardinals have been in the news for many things they probably would not like to be known for. After former team executive Terry McDonough filed a claim of wrongful termination, accusing him of a hostile work environment, a report from The Athletic details some of the problems in the building as a work environment.

The consistent theme is that employees fear owner Michael Bidwill and women feel targeted for certain behaviors.

Much of what was mentioned is well known.

The Cardinals did not have a human resources department until recently. It was not fully staffed until 2022.

Anonymous employees (the report says more than a dozen current and former) detailed how they essentially felt like they had to walk on eggshells when Bidwill was in the building because, depending on his mood, he could go off on little things (someone walking too slowly, lights being off, squeaky wheel on a cart).

There were spoken and unspoken rules about women and interacting with players, coaches and staffers, suggesting sexist policies.

Women were expected to avoid interaction with players and staff and there was an unwritten dress code. In-house female media members were not allowed into the locker room until last year even though women from outside media organizations could go in during media availability.

The Cardinals have made policy changes and Bidwill issued a statement about some of the workplace allegations.

As I have said personally to every member of the Cardinals organization, I certainly have room to grow and with the benefit of hindsight, would have done some things differently over the years. I also know that my direct approach doesn’t always land well, and I’m working on that. I have always been driven by the desire to learn and improve and more importantly, to use those lessons in building the best organization possible. Over the last several years, we have taken significant steps to improve our culture and build a stronger community. We are a better and more inclusive organization today than we were yesterday and I’m extremely excited about what we can be tomorrow.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Terry McDonough claims scandal will cost Michael Bidwill ownership of Cardinals

Terry McDonough believes that when he is heard and when Steve Wilks speaks on Bidwill’s workplace behavior, he will be forced out as owner.

The Arizona Cardinals are dealing with a new offseason scandal. Former vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough filed a request for arbitration with the league accusing owner Michael Bidwill of a number of things including cheating, bullying, harassment and more.

McDonough believes the result of what he is bringing will be the end of Bidwill as the owner of the Cardinals.

He shared a number of text messages with Doug Franz, a former well-known radio host in Phoenix who now has his own daily podcast, “Doug Franz Unplugged.”

Franz shared the texts he got from McDonough on Monday.

“Bidwill’s days of owning the Cardinals will soon be coming to an end, and he has nobody to blame but himself and his horrific behavior toward so many people,” he wrote to Franz via text.

McDonough claims he has a 29-page petition of what he says is completely factual evidence of Bidwill’s mistreatment of employees and says it is all the truth.

“This was never about me,” he said. “Someone had to put a stop to Bidwill’s cruel treatment of people. When I saw how he was trying to treat me, I knew it was time to speak up against him and for all the people he thought he could bully because he owned the team.”

McDonough includes former head coach Steve Wilks as one of the biggest victims of Bidwill’s behavior.

“Do you have any idea of how heinous Michael Bidwill’s actions were toward Steve Wilks in 2018,” he asked. “Bidwill loved me right up until that point.

“From (general manager Steve) Keim’s suspension on, everything changed. The only thing I did was let Bidwill know that I was going to expose him for his atrocious treatment of Steve Wilks. That’s why I suddenly disappeared. He couldn’t fire me because he knew I had him dead in his tracks, and that’s why he came out with all that B.S. about me last week.”

He was referencing the response the team gave, bringing up McDonough’s own workplace misconduct.

McDonough believes he and Wilks hold the smoking gun that will force Bidwill out.

“His biggest mistake is this — he never thought he was going to be held accountable for his cruel and uncivilized behavior towards many people,” he said. ‘His time of owning an NFL team is going to come to a quick and abrupt end whenever I speak and especially when Steve Wilks talks.”

Thus far, Wilks has made no comment on any of this, although he is included as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the NFL for racist hiring practices filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.

The league will decide if commissioner Roger Goodell will hear this case or whether someone he appoints will hear it.

McDonough appears ready to make sure this story doesn’t get forgotten.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Former Cardinals COO Ron Minegar confirms some of Terry McDonough’s allegations

A communication between Minegar and Bidwill doesn’t confirm misconduct but confirms Bidwill’s negativity in the workplace.

Former Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough has filed a request for arbitration with the league, alleging cheating and other misconduct by owner Michael Bidwill.

Based on information that Pro Football Talk acquired in a communication between former COO Ron Minegar and Bidwill from December 2019, just before he stepped down, at least some of what McDonough alleges is true.

Minegar worked for the Cardinals from 2000-2020 and stepped down a few months after he was arrested for a DUI.

Nothing about the alleged cheating McDonough accuses Bidwill and the Cardinals of doing is confirmed with Minegar. However, it does confirm Bidwill’s workplace demeanor.

According to PFT, Bidwill changed over the years, going from smiling and happy to angry.

“I acknowledge that you have had to deal with a ton of issues this past year, but you come to work angry every day,” Minegar wrote, per PFT. “You talk down to almost everyone. You’ve become arrogant and condescending. You need to get credit for everything when things are going well and are quick to point the finger at everyone else when we are struggling.”

This was just a couple of months after Michael’s father, Bill Bidwill, died.

McDonough claims that employees work in fear because of Bidwills’s demeanor and behavior.

While nothing Minegar says shows any real misconduct, it does confirm that Bidwill is apparently hard to be around and work with.

McDonough alleges that Bidwill shut down an employee survey. Minegar confirms this, while the team claims it used the survey to make organizational changes.

It appears both are true.

Bidwill apparently shut things down when he saw the negative responses about him and then the team added people resources and added some wellness initiatives.

‘I am sad for you and worried about you,” Minegar rights, again according to PFT. “You deserve to be happy, but you are miserable. You know it. The people around you feel it daily and it impacts them more than you understand.”

While this does not do much to shed light on any true misconduct, it does give more evidence of some of the problems in the organization in terms of the workplace.

As PFT notes, it will be interesting to see if anyone else comes forward with anything like this from other current or former employees.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Former exec alleges Cardinals, Michael Bidwill of cheating, misconduct, more

Former VP Terry McDonough has filed a grievance with the NFL alleging cheating and misconduct by team owner Michael Bidwill.

The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in the news again for the wrong reasons. Over the last more than a year, they have been consistently in the news for problems.

This is no different.

The latest are accusations from former team vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough. He has filed a grievance with the league accusing the team of cheating, misconduct and harassment. The details of the report come from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler, Mike Sando and Stewart Mandel.

What all is being accused?

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Everything we know about Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill’s alleged harassment and discrimination

There appears to be a deep pattern of abuse and misconduct at the top of the Cardinals’ organization.

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill came under fire from a former team executive Tuesday afternoon, and the allegations do not paint Bidwill’s conduct as owner in a remotely positive light.

According to an ESPN report, former Cardinals vice president Terry McDonough filed an arbitration claim against Bidwill, accusing him of cheating, discrimination and harassment. McDonough’s claim was filed to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

In a statement provided to ESPN, the Cardinals denied the allegations, saying McDonough was “lashing out” at the franchise with “disparagements and threats that are absurdly at odds with the facts.”

Here’s what we know so far about the allegations.

Former Cardinals exec accuses team owner Michael Bidwill of cheating

A former exec is leveling some nasty allegations against Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill

A nasty story out of the desert on Tuesday.

Ex-Cardinals exec Terry McDonough has accused team owner Michael Bidwill of cheating, gross misconduct, discrimination, and harassment in an arbitration claim.

McDonough was the Cardinals’ vice president of player personnel from 2014 to 2019.

Per ESPN.com:

McDonough maintained that both he and former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks were left no choice but to follow Bidwill’s plan to use burner phones to communicate with former Arizona general manager Steve Keim while Keim was serving a five-week suspension after pleading guilty to extreme DUI in Arizona.

McDonough said he still has the phone, which he said contains the evidence of the cheating scandal, as well as additional documentation.

The Cardinals responded, denying the allegations:

“We are reluctantly obliged to provide a public response along with broader context for some disappointing and irresponsible actions by Terry McDonough,” external public relations adviser to the Cardinals Jim McCarthy said in a statement. “Claims he has made in an arbitration filing are wildly false, reckless, and an opportunistic ploy for financial gain.

“Our position was consistent with many efforts we’ve made to accommodate Terry during his time with the team, despite difficulties in his personal life and his often volatile demeanor toward colleagues,” the statement from McCarthy said. “That’s why we are saddened to see that Terry is now lashing out at our organization with disparagements and threats that are absurdly at odds with the facts. This unnecessary and vindictive action by Terry was intended to malign his co-workers, our owner Michael Bidwill, and our team with outlandish accusations.”

For all the nasty allegations, click here.

 

GM, HC searches affected by Cardinals’ reputation on compensation

A recent report and report card show that the Cardinals still have a reputation for being miserly.

The Arizona Cardinals have a new general manager and head coach after a long, deliberate process. It turns out that their search might have gone a little differently if it weren’t for the reputation of the team and owner Michael Bidwill of being cheap.

Bidwill’s father, Bill Bidwill, had the reputation around the NFL for being miserly. Michael appeared to have shaken that same reputation and the team has done many things differently since he took over, but it would appear that he has the same reputation.

This was made public in a recent NFLPA team report card that grades each facet of the workplace for the players. They ranked second-to-last in the league and got failing grades in five of eight categories.

Compare.bet’s Kyler Odegard, a former reporter for the Cardinals, reported some damning information about the team’s GM and head coach search.

The Cardinals originally offered Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham the job. Per Odegard, he didn’t accept because the job because the two parties couldn’t agree on his desired compensation.

That led to the Cardinals hiring Ossenfort.

There is more. Ran Carthon, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers and now the GM of the Tennessee Titans, and 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters both turned down interviews with the Cardinals. New Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans canceled an interview with the Cardinals.

Per Odegard, Bidwill’s reputation was believed to be a reason for not accepting interviews.

The same is why Dan Quinn ended up back with the Dallas Cowboys after interviewing with the Cardinals for their head coaching job and Sean Payton, now the coach of the Broncos, also didn’t get hired.

Bidwill has since said that Payton’s salary was not the reason he was not hired. It was the draft compensation the Saints wanted to be able to hire Payton.

As the team moves forward trying to rebuild and reestablish itself as a good team, these reports continue to cast shadows on a team that has had almost nothing but questionable press for more than a year.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.