Firings watch.

This is somewhat unusual. It isn’t common to fire a whole team from a league.

The only example I am aware of before the past few days is NK Veres Rivne, an “association football” team, which got thrown out of the Ukrainian Second League in 2011 for not paying dues.

On Thursday, the Albany Empire (“Albany?”) was thrown out of the National Arena League…for not paying dues.

“After exhausting all avenues, the NAL board of owners have decided unanimously to terminate the membership agreement of the Albany Empire,” the league said in a release. “The decision was reached after an emergency conference call of the members in good standing to discuss the Empire’s failure to pay their league mandated and overdue assessments.”

The Albany Empire was recently aquired (maybe: it is complicated) by Antonio Brown, former NFL player.

Since Brown bought the Empire — becoming a part-owner in March and taking over a 94% stake in the franchise in May — the team has been through multiple coaches, and both quarterbacks on the roster were released after last weekend’s loss to the Orlando Predators that dropped Albany to 1-6. The Empire had entered the season as two-time defending champions.
Brown, a four-time NFL All-Pro wide receiver, had vowed to play for the Empire but had yet to do so. He practiced Wednesday and caught passes from quarterback Dalton Cole — who played at Division III Brevard College and played for the Sharks for a short time — before giving an interview in which he questioned whether “AB” was going to pay him; Brown has stated in the past that AB the owner and Antonio Brown the player are different people.

Thursday’s decision was the latest drama during Brown’s tenure in Albany. Players and suppliers complained about not getting paid, and eight players were suspended after one player filed an aggravated harassment report with police over a dispute that occurred on the team bus, The Albany Times-Union reported last month.

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