Julian Crowley
Ordering a salad from McDonald’s is one of those noble acts of self-respect and self-denial that should make you feel better about yourself. However, this was far from the truth in 2006 when football coach Todd Haley — then an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys — took home a salad for his wife and their live-in babysitter. Upon unwrapping and half-eating their healthy option, the two women allegedly found a less than healthy extra ingredient among the salad leaves: a dead roof rat, six inches in length, the discovery of which left them deeply fearful of having contracted a disease. After a manager from the Texan McDonald’s drove out to investigate and — according to the family — “didn’t offer any comfort,” Haley filed a lawsuit against the burger chain for $1.7 million in damages. The case was settled before it went to trial for an undisclosed amount. That’s a defensive play Haley might not have been expecting.
