WASHINGTON (Dec. 5, 2006) -- New York Giants linebacker LaVar Arrington is tentatively scheduled to testify before Congress this week at a hearing involving his former agent.
Arrington, a three-time Pro Bowl player; NFL Players Association general counsel Richard Berthelsen; and a law professor were on a "tentative witness list" e-mailed to The Associated Press by House Judiciary Committee press secretary Terry Shawn.
Arrington did not immediately return a phone message left for him by the AP on Dec. 5.
The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has scheduled an oversight hearing for Dec. 7 to examine the NFL Players Association's arbitration process. Lawmakers will be looking into the NFLPA's suspension of Arrington's former agent, Carl Poston, stemming from his handling of a contract the linebacker signed with the Washington Redskins near the end of the 2003 season.
That eight-year deal was closed in a rush because the Redskins wanted to beat a deadline for salary-cap purposes -- and Arrington and Poston later said the team bilked him out of a $6.5 million bonus.
In connection with that contract, the NFLPA's disciplinary committee recommended in March that Poston be suspended for two years. After several hearings about the case were postponed, the NFLPA suspended him.
Arrington showed his support for Poston in the past, appearing at a U.S. District Court hearing in New York this year when Poston challenged the suspension.
Eventually, Arrington and the Redskins resolved the bonus dispute; he didn't receive the money. Later, he paid Washington to let him out of the contract completely, and he signed with the Giants as a free agent last offseason.
Arrington tore his left Achilles' tendon during a game in October and is out for the rest of this season.
AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this story.
