Cardinals' Michael Bidwill becomes just the latest NFL owner accused of ugly behavior

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, before working full-time for his father's team, worked as a federal prosecutor from 1990-1996, where he specialized in prosecuting violent crime. In 2016 he was honored by the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

"In past years, attendees have included a broad spectrum of notable attorneys in the Phoenix legal community, and many federal judges," the FBA said in honoring Bidwill at a party. "This year we are thrilled to honor Michael J. Bidwill, President, Arizona Cardinals, and former Assistant United States Attorney."

Seven years later, the former federal prosecutor's football team is accused of some disturbing behavior, including "cheating, discrimination and harassment." The Cardinals didn't help themselves with an absolutely shameful response in the arbitration case that started all of this.

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The accusations against the Cardinals and Bidwill – which he vehemently denies – are part of a recent pattern of accusations against either current or former NFL owners. They range from allegations of racism, corruption, sexual assault, and other conduct that sometimes seems like it's from a Quentin Tarantino movie. Some of the owners accused are among the most powerful in all of sports.

We often focus on the behavior of the players and this is justified. They are the face of the league. Sometimes, however, the billionaire owners who employ them get a massive pass, particularly from a league office that often seems afraid to hold them accountable.

One phenomenon with owners is they can use their wealth and power to bury accusations. Often the only time their misdeeds become public is because of investigative journalism, lawsuits or as in the case of Bidwell, the arbitration process.

The number of NFL owners who have recently faced ugly accusations is extensive:

Snyder: Some of the most sordid accusations against any single person or organization in the recent history of the NFL.

Dolphins' Stephen Ross: Suspended for violating the "integrity of the game."

Cowboys' Jerry Jones: Accused of sexual assault.

Patriots' Robert Kraft: Charged with solicitation as part of an anti-sex trafficking investigation into Florida massage parlors. Charges were eventually dropped.

Former Texans owner Bob McNair: Said something really racist.

Former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson: Said something really racist. And sexist. And overall did lots of awful stuff.

Jets' Woody Johnson: He's co-owner of the team and was investigated by a State Department watchdog after working as an ambassador for allegedly making a variety of racist and sexist remarks.

Chargers' Dean Spanos: Accused of misogynistic behavior by his sister.

And of course there was banishing of Colin Kaepernick by the NFL for peacefully protesting police violence against people of color.

The accusations involving Bidwill exemplify how alleged bad behaving owners can exist under the radar in ways players cannot.

Bidwill is accused of gross misconduct, including cheating, discrimination and harassment, as ESPN first reported, in an arbitration claim filed this week by former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

This part from ESPN about the grievance is among the most disturbing of the accusations: "The grievance also said Bidwill reduced two pregnant women – one five months pregnant, the other seven months – to tears after screaming at them with 'abusive and bullying mistreatment.'

"McDonough said he has proof that in 2019, the Cardinals' top brass decided to conduct an employee engagement survey with all their employees, only to see Bidwill intercept the results of the survey and cancel it.

"Many of the employees who responded to the survey indicated that they were fearful of Bidwill on a daily basis, as a result of Bidwill's erratic and often abusive interactions with them."

Some of the accusations track with a recent player survey from the union. The Cardinals ranked next to last in overall score as players complained about the team's facilities.

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"The Arizona Cardinals rank second to last in their overall score among the 32 NFL clubs," the union's report states. "The locker room does not have confidence that owner Michael Bidwill is willing to invest to upgrade the facilities, as he ranks the lowest in that category across the league. The responses that provide the bases for that characterization include: the worst-ranked weight room, which some players feel is a safety hazard; an outdated training room and locker room; and a policy of deducting dinner from players’ paychecks should players want to get food from the facility.

"The consistent sentiment in players’ responses was that ownership does not provide high quality workplace facilities, and Club policies reflected the lowest rate of confidence that current ownership is willing to invest to make upgrades."

The Cardinals, according to the union, were one of 14 teams that don't offer a family room, and one of 11 teams that don't offer daycare

The team released an extensive public denial of McDonough's accusations. Part of it read: "We are reluctantly obliged to provide a public response along with broader context for some disappointing and irresponsible actions by Terry McDonough. Claims he has made in an arbitration filing are wildly false, reckless, and an opportunistic ploy for financial gain."

The Cardinals also responded in the arbitration process itself with a personal and nasty attack against McDonough.

You have to understand how these arbitrations work. They are often heavily weighted in favor of the teams. The Cardinals likely didn't need to do such a classless move to win it. They did it because they can.

They did it because they can, in many ways, is the motto of some owners.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cardinals' Michael Bidwill latest NFL owner accused of ugly behavior