Packers Fan Can't Sue NFL, But Bears Still Fair Game: Judge

CHICAGO, IL — A Packers fan can't sue the NFL over not being allowed to wear his Green Bay gear during on-field, pregame warmups at Solider Field, a judge ordered last week. But the ruling Friday does allow the longtime Bears season-ticket holder to continue his lawsuit against the Chicago team, according to NBC 5 Chicago.

Russell Beckman, a high school social studies from Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, filed his lawsuit in June, and he contends that the Bears' refusal to let him wear his Packers gear for the pregame activity stopped him from fully enjoying the experience and the game. Beckman, who has had Chicago season tickets since 2003, has redeemed season-ticket reward points to hang out on the sidelines while teams warm up before home games for three NFL seasons.

He wore Packers attire without objections during the 2014 and '15 seasons. But in the 2016 season, Beckman was told he couldn't wear his gear during the Bears-Packers game, and he wasn't allowed on the sidelines.

RELATED: Packers Fan Sues Bears Over No Green Bay Gear Allowed During Pregame Perk

The lawsuit wants the Bears to drop its "no opposing team" dress code, a restriction Beckman, who is representing himself, believes is illegal because Soldier Field is a publicly owned and funded facility.

Although Judge Joan Gottschall ruled that Beckman hadn't establish his standing to sue the NFL, she did determine that he could still pursue a lawsuit against the Bears on First Amendment grounds, NBC 5 reports. His deadline to file an amended complaint is April 3, and a status conference is set for May 9, the report added.

"This is not about me shaking down the Bears," he told NBC 5. "This is about me trying to get the Bears to change what I think is a misguided policy."

More via NBC 5 Chicago

Packers fan Russell Beckman — a Chicago Bears season-ticket holder from Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin — shows his support for Green Bay in a 2015 photo during a pregame warmup experience at Solider Field. The photo was included in Beckman's federal lawsuit filed Friday, June 16, against the Bears and the NFL. (Photo via Russell Beckman)