Trump Says If USFL Doesn’t Win, It Won’t Play

Donald Trump, the owner of the New Jersey Generals, said that if the United States Football League doesn’t win its $1.5-billion antitrust suit against the National Football League, he doesn’t think his league will play this fall.

This season is scheduled to be the first in the fall for the USFL after three spring seasons. The league voted to switch in August, 1984.

Trump said from the witness stand: “If we don’t win this case and get a network television contract, I don’t think we’re going play against this horror of a league,” the “horror” being a reference to the NFL, which he and other USFL witnesses have referred to in derogatory terms throughout the trial.

USFL Commissioner Harry Usher described Trump’s testimony as “just Donald’s opinion” and said that the decision on playing would be up to all the owners. “We’ll play,” he said. “The owners are committed to playing in 1986.”