Heard of Susan Nelson? Judge may decide NFL's future

She's easily the most important person in football right now. She'll possibly determine the future of the sport, and few people know anything about her.

She once worked as a camp counselor, was a waitress at Stouffers and a bank teller. She went to law school and became a judicial star taking on a powerful tobacco company as part of a landmark legal case.

She's been praised by senators and presidents, called a mystery by others, and some of the most powerful men in the NFL fear her.

Eventually Susan Richard Nelson became a judge for the U.S. District Court in Minnesota and recently, a certain case landed on her desk. Maybe you've heard of it; it's the NFL versus the players. Nelson will likely be the determining factor of not only how football will look in the future but when it will be played again.

It's possible the case will be reassigned to a judge other than Nelson, but for now it looks as if Nelson will rule on the antitrust lawsuit brought by the players against the owners.

The case has been a legal hot potato. It initially went to United States District Judge Richard Kyle in Minnesota who decided to forgo the case because of personal reasons. It was next transferred to U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, who withdrew because he represented the league in several past cases as a private practice lawyer. Nelson was assigned it afterward. It's expected to be heard April 6.

Who is Nelson? Both sides have compiled a dossier on her and spent hours researching her background, looking for any helpful clues, according to sources on both the players and owners' sides. Still, how she will rule, what direction she leans -- players or owners -- remains a mystery despite the massive amount of information both sides have assembled.

In fact, if there is one thing both the players and owners can agree on, it's that Nelson is no Judge David Doty. It was Doty who usually rules on labor cases -- the case landed with Nelson, it was announced March 14 -- and he overwhelmingly favored the players. There's no such track record for Nelson.

"I'm guessing the players are more nervous than they've been for awhile with no Doty," said one league official.

But there are hints about how Nelson could rule. Maybe. Possibly.

Nelson was nominated by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a liberal democrat from Minnesota. After Nelson was confirmed by the Senate, Klobuchar said, "Susan Nelson has the judicial temperament, personal integrity, and keen legal mind that are prerequisites for excellent judges... It is an honor to have Susan as our next federal judge -- she knows the law, she knows the federal court, and she knows Minnesota."

Klobuchar's political affiliation might be an indicator of Nelson's, and to be blunt, a more liberal judge could be more inclined to lean toward the players.

Yet there's a problem with that thinking: Doty was appointed by Ronald Reagan, the symbol for conservatism.

Nelson was appointed by President Obama. More hints? Maybe, maybe not. See above: Reagan, Ronald.

Before joining the bench Nelson made several political contributions, all to Democrats, including $1,000 to Clinton for President, Inc. in 1992 and $500 donation to John Kerry in 1995.

There is another aspect of her background that might be telling. It's a landmark tobacco case from 1998. Nelson was a key part of a legal team that beat big tobacco for a billion dollar settlement. In some ways, it was a classic little guy versus big guy story.

Does she see the players as the little guy and owners as the big guy?

When reading public databases and newspaper articles about Nelson, she's often portrayed as someone who is smart and fair. There's no reason to believe she won't be that way in this case.

Who is Susan Nelson?

If you're a football fan that question might be the most important of the past 10 years and might determine when you see your teams play again this year.

If they play again this year.

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