Collegiate & Professional Sports Law Blog

The U.S. Department of Justice has settled a complaint against the Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc. (“AIA”), that alleged the AIA discriminated against an individual with a disability by refusing to permit the use of a sign language interpreter during tennis matches in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title III applies to public accommodations, commercial facilities, and private entities offering certain examinations and courses.

 The case involved the AIA’s Director’s decision to prohibit a deaf tennis player from using a sign language interpreter to provide interpreting services during a AIA-sponsored tennis tournament, except between sets or before and after the match.  Prior to the tournament at issue, the tennis player had been permitted to use language interpreting services during all school-sponsored tennis matches.  The Director’s decision was made in response to a protest filed by an opposing coach.  As part of its investigation, the DOJ determined that, as result of the Director’s decision, the tennis player was unable to communicate effectively with her partner and opposing players during the match.

As part of its settlement with the DOJ, the AIA agreed to implement policies and procedures designed to afford individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing a benefit equal to that provided to others, and to ensure that appropriate auxiliary aids and services would be provided where necessary to afford effective communication during AIA-sponsored tennis matches.  The AIA also agreed to amend its Tournament Guidelines to add the following:

 An interpreter shall be allowed to stand or sit at a side of the playing area so as to facilitate effective communication among the players and others.

Moreover, under the terms of the settlement, the AIA will designate one person within the organization as the AIA's ADA Coordinator. The Coordinator would be responsible for, among other things, ensuring that AIA promptly and properly responds to any request for reasonable modification or auxiliary aid.

Earlier this year, the DOJ settled a case it had brought against a youth football league in Western Pennsylvania after the agency determined the league had violated Title III when it failed to make a reasonable modification of its policies, practices, and procedures to permit a participant with severe visual impairments to use a tinted visor when playing football.

Jackson Lewis attorneys regularly advise clients from all parts of the sports world on compliance with their obligations under the ADA’s public accommodations provisions.  The firm will continue to monitor the DOJ’s aggressive enforcement of Title III.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement between owners and major league players, Major League Baseball (MLB) has introduced a new social media policy for all 40-man roster players.

In an introductory memorandum to  affected players, MLB acknowledges the importance of social media and encourages player use for communicating with fans. It states, “We encourage you to connect with fans through Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms….[W]e hope that your efforts on social media will bring fans closer to the game and have them engaged with baseball, your club and you in a meaningful way.”  In particular, the policy encourages players to use social media to

• Interact with fans
• Share non-confidential information about player activities
• Highlight charitable and promotional activity that players are participating in personally or on behalf of their teams

MLB also reminds and cautions players, however, that while a tweet or a Facebook post might be made from their private phones, it is a public statement to a mass audience, not a private text to a friend. MLB further warns players to refrain from the the “heat of the moment” communications, adding that a message should be one they would be comfortable personally communicating in a press conference.

The policy, moreover, contains ten (10) express prohibitions on players’ use of social media.:

 1)    Players are prohibited from displaying or transmitting content that can be reasonably construed as official team or league statements without permission.

2)    Players are prohibited from using an MLB entity’s logo, mark, or written, photographic, video or audio property without permission.

3)    Players cannot link to any MLB entity website without permission.

4)    Players cannot communicate any content that contains confidential or proprietary information of any MLB entity or its employees or agents.

5)    Players cannot communicate any content that could be reasonably construed as condoning the use of any substance prohibited by major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

6)    Players cannot communicate any content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a Major League Umpire.

7)    Players cannot display or transmit content that is derogatory or insensitive to individuals based on race, color, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or religion, including, but not limited to, slurs, jokes, stereotypes or other inappropriate remarks.

8)    Players cannot display or transmit content that constitutes harassment of an individual or group of individuals, or threatens or advocates the use of violence against an individual or group of individuals.

9)    Players cannot display or transmit any content that contains obscene or sexually explicit language, images or acts.

10) Players cannot display or transmit any content that violates applicable local, state or federal law or regulations.

If a player violates the policy, he may be subject to discipline for just cause either by his team or the Commissioner pursuant to Article XII of the collective bargaining agreement

The hefty contracts and marketing deals athletes now command have attracted states’ attention to the conduct of sports agents in light of state laws and regulations.  Forty-three states have athlete agent regulations that regulate the registration, licensing, and conduct of athlete agents.  As the following example illustrates, athlete agents who do not diligently follow state laws could find themselves out of the deal.

According to published reports, Joel Bell, the former agent of NBA player Michael Beasley, was a licensed sports agent in the state of Kansas when he signed a player-agent agreement to represent Beasley.  Beasley played basketball at Kansas State during 2007-08 and was the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. 

Bell sued Beasley claiming he breached his representation agreement with Bell’s agency, Bell Sports Incorporated, when Beasley fired Bell just before signing an endorsement deal with a major sports apparel label.  Beasley filed a counterclaim against Bell and Beasley’s former coach, alleging they violated NCAA rules and federal laws governing agent conduct.  (The complaint against the former coach was later withdrawn.)

The Montgomery County Maryland Circuit Court judge ruled on November 29, 2011, that Bell could not enforce the player-agent agreement he signed with Beasley in 2008 because Bell had operated without a sports agent license in the state of Maryland.  The agreement between Beasley and Bell stipulated that the agreement was governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Maryland.  Section 4-403 of the Maryland Uniform Athlete Agent Act states that “an individual may not act as an athlete agent in the State without holding a license” and that “an agency contract resulting from conduct in violation of this section is void and the athlete agent shall return any consideration received under the contract.”  Because Bell was not a licensed sports agent in Maryland, the contract was void.  

The lesson from this case is that an athlete agent can suffer professionally and financially from being uninformed.  Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to answer questions about state laws that apply to sports agents.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players’ union have executed a new five year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will run through the 2016 season. The highlights of the new CBA include blood testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and a rise in the minimum major league salary from $414,000 to $480,000 in 2012 and $500,000 by the end of the deal. In addition, the pact will expand the current playoff format to 10 teams by 2013 and introduce luxury taxes on both annual draft signings and international free agent signings.

The new labor pact, which replaces the current CBA that was set to expire on December 11^th, guarantees labor peace in Major league Baseball for an unprecedented 21 consecutive years. This will represent the longest period of labor peace since the creation of the MLB Players Association in 1966.

“Nobody back in the ‘70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, would ever believe that we would have 21 years of labor peace,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said. 

Those players who test positive for HGH will face a 50-game suspension. This penalty mirrors the current first-time penalty for a positive steroid test.

“The players want to get out and be leaders on this issue, and they want there to be a level playing field,” MLB Players Association executive director Michael Weiner said.

The implementation of the HGH testing places MLB ahead of the National Football League (NFL) and makes it the first major North American professional sports league to require such testing. The NFL wanted to start HGH testing this season after a tentative testing protocol was agreed to in the league's new labor agreement. To date, the NFL Players Association has failed to agree to the specific details of the NFL testing program and the program is currently being held in abeyance.

The new MLB agreement also contains restraints on the bonuses paid to amateur free agents, including players signing their first professional baseball contracts from high school and colleges, as well as those free agent players coming from abroad who are currently not subject to MLB's annual amateur draft.  There will be five levels of tax, ranging from 75 percent for teams that exceed the specific team threshold by 0-5 percent to a maximum of 100 percent tax on the gross amount of the signing bonuses paid which exceed the bonus threshold as well as the loss of future first round draft picks. For players selected in the 11^th round and beyond, teams may execute contracts with signing bonuses of up to $100,000 without the signing bonus amount counting against the team threshold. In addition, draft picks will no longer be able to sign major league contracts and avoid the impact of the bonus tax threshold.

For international free agents, such as players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, a separate threshold and tax with penalties will begin during the July 2012-June 2013 international signing period.

Free agent compensation will also be completely revised following the 2012 season. The current system, which awards the team losing the free agent draft picks from the team signing the free agent player, will be replaced. Teams will now have to offer its former players who became free agents the average of the top 125 contracts in MLB - currently about $12 million - to receive draft-pick compensation if a player signs with a new team.

The new agreement also modifies the current agreement's salary arbitration eligibility provisions. After the 2012 season, 22% of the players with at least two years but less than three years of major league service will become eligible for salary arbitration. This increases the number from the current 17% and will result in approximately 5 additional players being eligible for salary arbitration each season.

The new agreement will also result in the shift of the Houston Astros franchise from the National League Central Division to the American League West Division in 2013. This realignment, the first in MLB since the Milwaukee Brewers joined the National League after the 1997 season, will result in each league containing 15 teams and create an expanded playoff system. The new playoff structure will increase the number of eligible playoff teams to 10, five each from the National League and American League. The two wild card teams in each league (the non-division winners with the best overall records) will meet each other in a one-game playoff.

Consider the dilemma of a newly drafted NHL hockey player from Canada. After signing his Standard Player Contract, obtaining his P visa, and loading up his gear and heading to the border with his long-time girlfriend to begin training camp, both are stopped at the border. The immigration officer questioned the girlfriend’s intention to travel to the United States to accompany the player just for the duration of the season. Entry denied and she is turned away.

What happened? The girlfriend in the above scenario was denied entry due to “immigrant intent.” The border officers made a determination that because she was not married to the player or otherwise in the possession of an independent student or work visa, the girlfriend most likely had the “intent” to remain in the United States, never to return to Canada. Seem implausible or irrational? This is a frequent real-life situation that can be disruptive to a professional organization concerned with the smooth transition of its players (and significant others).

In August 2011, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ revised Policy Memo appears to provide a possible solution to the above scenario. The policy memo stands for the proposition that border officials are now given discretion to grant B visa (tourist) entry to cohabiting partners or household members of nonimmigrant visa holders.

Cohabiting partners and household members are defined as “an alien who regularly resides in the same dwelling as the principal nonimmigrant and with whom the principal nonimmigrant maintains the type of relationship and care as one normally would expect between nuclear family members.”

While the ultimate approval of the visa is at the discretion of the reviewing officer, this policy change appears to provide a basis to permit the live-in girlfriends of professional foreign athletes to enter the United States to accompany the player for the duration of the season. Attorneys in the Collegiate and Professional Sports Practice Group have successfully advised the use of this new policy.