NFL Sued by Company for Tony Romo's Canceled Fantasy Football Event in Las Vegas

A company that was working in partnership with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is firing back at the NFL with a lawsuit for impeding a fantasy football event that was scheduled to take place in July. 

According to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, Fan Expo LLC is suing the NFL for more than $1 million in damages, saying the league "illegally" interfered with the National Fantasy Football Convention in Las Vegas:   

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The event, which was a partnership between Tony Romo and a Dallas entrepreneur, was supposed to take place from July 10-12 at a convention area of The Venetian and feature a roster of at least 60 NFL players under contract, including Romo, Odell Beckham Jr., Rob Gronkowski and Dez Bryant. But five weeks before the event, the suit alleges, NFL officials called people associated with the players who were getting paid to come -- their teams, families, their agents and, in some cases, even their parents -- to tell them they would be fined or suspended if they attended the convention.

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Rovell also reported that "the NFL also told the NFL Network's Michael Fabiano that if he remained the host of the event he would risk losing his job." 

In the wake of the lawsuit, an NFL spokesman denied any league contact regarding the event, via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports.

National Fantasy Football Convention issued a statement on the matter on July 23, via Jenna Laine of Fox Sports:

Also in the report, Rovell noted that the NFL has a policy preventing players and league personnel from participating in promotional events held at or sponsored by casinos. 

However, Rovell's report noted that the expo center where this convention was going to take place has no gambling and is unaffiliated with any casino. 

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports also pointed out the NFL's hypocrisy on casinos:

Romo previously made his frustration with the NFL's actions known, telling ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd (via ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer) that the league was acting like a kid in high school who felt bad at not being invited to the party.