The Sports Xchange

Tony Romo says the NFL was acting out of spite when it forced the cancellation of a fantasy football convention in Las Vegas.

“It’s like when you’re in high school and you don’t get invited to the party, it makes you feel bad,” the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback told ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd on Tuesday. “If they really wanted to just be a part of it, all they had to do was just call and ask. It would’ve been a lot easier, I think, than going about the process the way they did.”

The inaugural National Fantasy Football Convention was canceled last week after the league informed the NFL Players Association that the event scheduled for July 10-12 would be in violation of NFL rules by being held at a casino property.

The three-day event was scheduled to be hosted by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. All of the sessions were to be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, which does not have on-site gambling.

“Players and NFL personnel may not participate in promotional activities or other appearances at or in connection with events that are held at or sponsored by casinos,” an NFL spokesman said Friday in a statement to FOX Sports.

Punishment for participation in the event likely would have been a fine, a source told FOX Sports.

More than 100 players were expected to participate in the event, which would have allowed fantasy football players to connect with NFL stars in question-and-answer sessions and other activities.

Romo organized the event and various active players were scheduled to appear, including New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray and Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles.

Players were due more than a combined $1 million in marketing or appearance fees, according to ESPN.

“We understand that these things come about and there’s big money involved sometimes from the NFL’s perspective,” Romo said. “If we had known about the issue of the place or thought that was something that could’ve been an issue, the NFL could’ve told us that right away. That’s where it makes it interesting.”

Romo pointed out that the NFL seemingly has no problem with its teams dealing with gambling companies, such as a sponsorship agreement between the MGM Grand Detroit and the Detroit Lions for a club suite being added to Ford Field.

“They talk about how no players or NFL personnel are to be associated (with casinos). Well, I’m like, ‘That doesn’t really make sense,'” Romo said. “There’s just far too many cases and it does make it sound sometimes that it’s an issue about money, which is disappointing because we were just trying to get the fans to hang out with players.”