Jack Donlan, labeled by the United States...

Jack Donlan, labeled by the United States Football League as the culprit behind two of the “smoking guns” in its antitrust suit against the National Football League, finished seven hours of testimony in New York, saying he had done nothing to try to kill the rival league.

Specifically, during questioning by NFL lawyer Robert Fiske, Donlan, executive director of the NFL Management Council, testified:

--The 1984 presentation to 60 NFL executives by Prof. Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School was designed only to help NFL executives compete in the salary war. USFL lawyer Harvey Myerson contends that the presentation was part of a grand scheme to “conquer” the USFL.

--His 1983 memo, titled, “Spending the USFL Dollar,” contained ideas designed to save money for both leagues. Donlan said the memo, which suggested that the NFL bid for lower-priced USFL players to drive up the new league’s pay scale, was never circulated outside Management Council offices after he was told it was impractical.