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Lawsuit possible OT Brown keeping 'eye' on NFL with Johnnie Cochran
Posted: Wednesday April 26, 2000 09:21 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Browns offensive tackle Orlando Brown, hit in the right eye by an official's weighted penalty flag last season, has hired attorney Johnnie Cochran for a possible lawsuit against the NFL. "Johnnie is going to be working with Orlando. We just don't know in which capacity yet," Cochran's publicist, Rachel Noerdlinger, said Wednesday. Cochran and Brown have talked several times on the phone about a possible lawsuit but didn't meet until Tuesday night when Brown visited the celebrity attorney's New York law firm, Noerdlinger said. They haven't decided whether to file a lawsuit, she said. "We're going to be doing research. We're still investigating," she said. Brown's agent, Tom Condon, said Wednesday night that he could only confirm that discussions had been held with Cochran about representing Brown. Browns spokesman Todd Stewart refused to comment Wednesday, saying it was "a personal matter for the player." Brown's career is in jeopardy because of injuries sustained when a BB-laden penalty flag thrown by referee Jeff Triplette hit him in the right eye during a game against Jacksonville on Dec. 19. Browns coach Chris Palmer said three weeks ago that the team's medical staff estimated that it would take an additional six to eight months for Brown's vision to clear. The best-case scenario would be a return at midseason. Brown, whose father is blind from glaucoma, said concern for his eyesight caused him to storm back on the field and shove Triplette. Brown was hospitalized for six days with bleeding behind the eye. The league initially suspended Brown indefinitely, but lifted the penalty in late February. Triplette has not been reprimanded.
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