Patriots fans sue the NFL in an effort to get back the team’s first-round draft pick

So there’s this New England Patriots fan who is “devastated” that his 7-year-old daughter is considering rooting for another NFL team.

“Devastated” is in quotes because that is the word used in the federal lawsuit that this guy and six other Patriots fans filed against the league on Tuesday.

The desired outcome of this suit -- which names the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft as defendants -- is for the league to restore New England’s first-round pick in this year’s draft.

“Unless enforcement of the Defendants’ unlawful policies and practices are enjoined, the Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury by being deprived of their teams’ first round draft choice,” the lawsuit states.

That pick, along with a fourth-rounder, was taken away from the team as part of its punishment for the Deflategate scandal. Kraft “reluctantly” accepted the penalty, which is probably why he’s been included as a defendant, although he recently did write a letter to Goodell asking for the picks back (Goodell denied the request).

Obviously, all of that amounts to racketeering, which actually is one of the eight counts the lawsuits brings against the defendants. Others include fraud, negligence, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress.

The plaintiffs ask the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the defendants from taking away the first-round pick.

The lawsuit likely is doomed from the start, according to a legal expert who spoke to Reuters.

“You can’t seek relief in court for an injury that someone else suffered,” said Josh Lewin, an attorney with Bowditch & Dewey specializing in civil litigation. “The court won’t let people do that.”