The fraud allegations against Michael Bidwill, owner of the Arizona Cardinals, are substantiating. Steve Wilks, former head coach, now confirmed using a disposable mobile phone to communicate with then-suspended general manager Steve Keim.

Back in April 2023, Terry McDonough, former vice president of the Arizona Cardinals, filed an arbitration complaint against Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

In it, McDonough accused his former supervisor of gross misconduct – fraud, discrimination and racist treatment of employees.

The Cardinals had denied the allegations, which were corroborated by a letter from former executive vice president Ron Minegar.

It also allegedly involved the use of disposable mobile phones, which Bidwell organised to allow McDonough, then-head coach Steve Wilks and other officials to communicate with temporarily suspended general manager Steve Keim.

Arizona Cardinals: Wilks testifies against Bidwell in court

Now the allegations have received new fodder. Wilks is said to have confirmed the use of such a mobile device in court, as “ESPN” reports. The TV station refers to a transcript it has of the statements made by Wilks, who was questioned by Californian authorities as part of the proceedings and testified under oath.

“It was a directive from Keim and Bidwell. They both knew,” the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator is quoted as saying. He himself had only exchanged a text message with Keim during the latter’s suspension, which allegedly dealt with the players’ performance in practice.

According to “ESPN”, the Cardinals’ lawyers complained to the arbitrator appointed for the proceedings, Jeffrey Mishkin, that Wilks’ lawyer did not allow cross-examination. As a result, his statements are said to not yet be in the record.

Arizona Cardinals: Wilks confirms use of disposable cell phones

Cardinals’ lawyers reportedly tried to convince Mishkin to delete the videotape and transcript of Wilks’ statements.

However, the latter is said to have decided to continue to keep them, as “ESPN” writes with reference to two sources involved in the arbitration proceedings.

“As much as we would like to disclose the truth about what happened, the applicable confidentiality order prohibits us from doing so,” the Cardinals told “ESPN” in a statement.

Back to Wilks’ statements and the throwaway phones. As the 54-year-old reported, according to “ESPN,” Bidwell’s initial announcement was “no contact” with Keim. Shortly thereafter, however, he reportedly received a throwaway phone from Mike Disner (vice president of football administration) “sometime between July 18 and 20” of 2018.

In addition to him, Bidwell and McDonough, Matt Caracciolo, Vice President of Football Operations and Facilities, also received such a device with all important contacts. According to the report, Keim owned several of them.

Arizona Cardinals: Wilks testimony implicates Bidwell after fraud allegations

He didn’t feel good about it, Wilks said, “Being a first-year head coach, I felt uncomfortable from the beginning because I had worked so hard to get to that level and that opportunity and then I was faced with this situation where I was unethical. “

As a result, he had contacted McConough on 23 July, who was to communicate Wilks’ concerns to Bidwell. That same day, Wilks overheard an argument between McConough and Bidwell on the sidelines of the training ground. Bidwell was “definitely angry”. As McDonough later told the then head coach, the conversation was about Wilks’ concerns.

Furthermore, Wilks stated that some of the disposable mobile phones were only collected after Keim had already been allowed to re-enter the premises. The Cardinals, however, stated that Bidwell collected them immediately after he learned about them. They also said that Bidwell’s behaviour towards Wilks changed after the latter’s expressions of concern, with the owner becoming “less communicative. “

Arizona Cardinals: Steve Wilks reports Bidwell’s insults

Further, Wilks recounted an incident in which he called Bidwill shortly after driving back from a game and Bidwill insulted him while his nine-year-old son was in the passenger seat: “As soon as he picked up, it was just profanities and how embarrassed he was about the game and how he can’t really, you know, bring friends or bring anybody in the box. “

In addition, Wilks confirmed that a coloured scout brought to his attention an incident that McDonough had already raised in his original complaint. The scout was insulted by Bidwell after standing in the owner’s car park.

The report does not mention when a decision on the lawsuit can be expected. While Keim already retired last year “for health reasons”, Bidwell is still the owner of the Cardinals.