The Steve Wilks allegations could create a…

Getty Images

Civil litigation filed against any employer always presents a  challenge. Sometimes, the litigation creates a challenge not directly connected to the litigation itself.

That’s what the Cardinals could be facing in connection with the claims made by former head coach Steve Wilks. Connected to, but distinctly separate from, Wilks’s claims is a question of whether the Cardinals violated the terms of G.M. Steve Keim’s 2018 suspension following a DUI.

On July 4, 2018, Keim was arrested for extreme DUI. He had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit. He pleaded guilty, served two days in jail, and spent seven days on home confinement. The Cardinals imposed a five-week suspension and a $200,000 fine.

The fine, undoubtedly imposed at the behest or with the approval of the league office, overlapped with portions of training camp. It was a critical time for the team. Keim wasn’t around.

Unless he was. There are hints in the amended complaint regarding the evidence to come. In paragraph 245, for example, Wilks alleges that Keim’s was “supposedly suspended,” in reference to a contract given to running back David Johnson not long after the Keim suspension ended.

“Clearly the investigation was ongoing, and there is evidence of Mr. Keim’s input and participation during his so-called suspension,” the amended complaint contends. The amended complaint doesn’t say there “will be” or “could be” or “may be” evidence of Keim’s input and participation, but that “there is evidence” that Keim had input and participation during his suspension.

So what’s the evidence? We’ll eventually find out. Whether it’s testimony from Wilks or others in the organization who knew about Keim’s “input and participation” or whether it’s documents, emails, and/or call logs, the possibility that the team was talking to and/or working with Keim when Keim was supposedly suspended becomes a potential problem for the league and/or owner Michael Bidwill.

And that could be a good thing for supposedly independent investigator Mary Jo White, who could end up adding yet another project to her burgeoning bonanza of billable hours for Big Shield.