As many social media users have looked for an alternative to the platform formerly (and still informally) known as Twitter after it was purchased and rebranded to X by Elon Musk, Bluesky has emerged as one of the top options.
NFL fans hoping to still follow their favorite teams on “the other app,” however, have hit a road block, with the league barring franchises from having a presence on Bluesky.
But while the NFL’s resistance to allowing teams to join Bluesky is reportedly a matter of money — the league would like to be compensated for helping legitimize the app as an X alternative, according to the Sports Business Journal — some fans are now fighting back. In his latest “What I’m Hearing” newsletter for Puck, Eriq Gardner revealed that a group of fans has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league over the decision to prohibit official accounts on Bluesky, portraying the decision as a “refusal to deal with Bluesky, in favor of X.”
The lawsuit states that some fans “do not want to have to follow their teams on Elon Musk’s X platform. As consumers, they should be free to decide that they do not want to do business with a particular outlet or brand.”
Gardner notes the the ironic nature of the lawsuit, as it’s similar to the one that Musk has filed — and amended just last week — against companies that have refused to advertise on X since he purchased the platform in 2022. He also adds that this is the type of litigation that the NFL has been susceptible to recent years, as evidenced by the Supreme Court’s decision in the American Needle lawsuit, which established that teams are capable of conspiring, as well as the initial verdict in the Sunday Ticket lawsuit, which was later overturned but could be reopened.
Obviously, there are also political undertones to all of this considering Musk’s relationship to President Donald Trump, who the NFL has seemingly been more than willing to appease since he was re-elected last November. And while the Supreme Court has previously ruled against the league in similar cases, it’s worth noting that the Court’s makeup is now even more conservative than it was 15 years ago.
Ultimately, this lawsuit is only in its infancy and it will be worth monitoring where it goes from here. But it’s certainly interesting that at least some NFL fans didn’t just notice the league’s absence on Bluesky, but were also quick to take action.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.