The number of states supporting the growing effort to secure legal rights for student-athletes to market their name, image, and likeness for economic benefit without affecting either their scholarship benefits or amateur status continues to grow. Legislators from Minnesota and Georgia have announced that they intend to introduce legislation at their state’s next legislative session … Continue Reading
New York State Senator Kevin S. Parker recently introduced his bill, the New York Collegiate Athletic Participation Compensation Act, to provide New York college student-athletes an opportunity to market their name, image, and likeness for economic benefit without affecting either their scholarship benefits or amateur status. Now, he has amended the bill a second time. … Continue Reading
In a recently published letter, the agents of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) wrote, “[T]he NCAA Agent Certification process and the rules, regulations, and guidelines surrounding it are needlessly invasive and onerous and are completely counterproductive to meeting the NCAA’s stated purpose in attempting to certify and regulate NBA agents: to protect men’s … Continue Reading
The University of Wisconsin Athletic Board has approved significant changes to its student-athlete discipline policy. The decision comes shortly after a Wisconsin jury acquitted one of the school’s football players of sexual assault charges. Wide receiver Quintez Cephus was expelled from the University in August 2018, then, following the jury’s not guilty verdict, he was … Continue Reading
Acting National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director Daniel Nelson has rejected the efforts of the International Brotherhood of Professional Running Backs (IBPRB) to sever and form a new union and bargaining unit for the National Football League’s (NFL) running backs separate and distinct from the current National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The Unit … Continue Reading
The California State Assembly has unanimously passed Senate Bill 206, formerly known as the Fair Pay To Play Act, prior to the scheduled end of the California legislative session on Friday, September 13th. The bill would allow California college student-athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness without affecting the … Continue Reading
California Senate Bill 206, formerly known as The Fair Pay To Play Act, which would allow college student-athletes within the state to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness without interfering with their eligibility to continue to participate in collegiate athletics, has moved one step closer to becoming law. The bill past another hurdle … Continue Reading
After observing the success of the NBA’s uniform patch program, Major League Baseball appears ready to utilize similar uniform advertising. According to MLB’s Executive and Vice President of Business and Sales Noah Garden, the MLB is considering advertising patches for players’ uniforms. Although the patches cover only a small portion of uniform space (approximately 6.25 … Continue Reading
Throughout the country, sports teams and their venues have been hit with an uptick of public accommodation lawsuits under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with its state and local counterparts. The ability to obtain attorney’s fees makes these cases attractive to plaintiffs’ firms. Plaintiffs include fans, who team up with … Continue Reading
Fortnite player Turner Tenney, professionally known as “Tfue,” has sued to void his contract with Esports team, FaZe Clan, Inc. Tfue’s action, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the terms of the contract he signed to play for FaZe Clan’s Fortnite team are grossly oppressive, onerous, and one-sided and in violation of California … Continue Reading
The Fair Pay to Play Act, introduced by California State Senate Majority Whip Nancy Skinner, has passed an initial hurdle toward becoming law as the California State Senate passed the proposed legislation by a 31-4 vote total. The California Assembly will now consider the measure in the near future. The proposed legislation (as discussed in … Continue Reading
While the focus of the recent Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship Game between University of Virginia and Texas Tech centered around the entertaining overtime finish culminating in Virginia’s first ever basketball championship, another storyline arose involving the runner-up Red Raiders. Specifically, graduate transfers played a role in Texas Tech’s magnificent tournament run due to the ability of … Continue Reading
Professional athletes who are “internationally recognized” are eligible for the P-1 visa and eSports (video games) at the professional level have become such major athletic events that eSports players have been granted these visas more and more often. https://www.collegeandprosportslaw.com/labor-law-and-sports/the-esports-industry-the-top-ten-labor-and-employment-law-issues/ In 2013, the USCIS for the first time recognized an eSports player as an athlete and … Continue Reading
The opportunity for college level student-athletes in California to take advantage of potential marketing opportunities while still maintaining their amateur status could soon become a reality. A report from the National College Players Association and Drexel University Sports Management Program concluded that 82 percent of full-scholarship athletes who live on campus and 90 percent of … Continue Reading
While colleges, universities and educational professionals await the Department of Education’s (DOE) proposed new Title IX regulations, which will dictate a revised process by which allegations of sexual misconduct must be handled, the state legislatures in Missouri and Arizona are currently considering legislation that would adopt many of Secretary DeVos’s anticipated regulatory modifications. Click here … Continue Reading
Millions of Americans will tune in on Sunday, February 3rd to the Super Bowl to watch one of the biggest sporting events of the year. This year’s game will again feature the New England Patriots, but it will be the first Super Bowl since the Supreme Court’s landmark case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn., … Continue Reading
As colleges and universities and student athletes await the long anticipated decision from U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken in Alston v. NCAA regarding whether scholarship limits imposed by the NCAA violate anti-trust laws, a bill introduced in the State of Washington could provide student athletes in the state with the opportunity to be paid … Continue Reading
As colleges and universities review the Department of Education’s proposed new Title IX regulations revising process by which allegations of sexual misconduct must be handled, they must consider the potential impact of what appears to be clearly greater protections for those accused of sexual misconduct, including student-athletes. The proposed regulations will formally replace guidance and … Continue Reading
National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Region 4 Regional Director Dennis Walsh recently dismissed Section 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) unfair labor practice charges filed by mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Leslie Smith against ZUFFA, LLC d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship (‘UFC”) alleging that her contract to fight was not renewed in retaliation for her union organizing efforts and … Continue Reading
The controversial NBA rule that keeps basketball players from beginning their professional careers until they’ve completed one year of college play may soon be history. The NBA has formally announced that “elite” 18-year-old basketball players will be able to move forward with their professional careers beginning with the 2019-20 season, skipping the current mandate that … Continue Reading
One of the NCAA’s strongest penalties has been declared illegal in California. California Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller issued a final decision finding NCAA “show-cause” penalties to be a violation of California state law. Arising from a lawsuit filed more than seven years ago by former USC assistant football coach Todd McNair, Judge Shaller, confirming … Continue Reading
Following a February 2018 Sports Illustrated article regarding alleged sexual harassment and misconduct within Dallas Basketball Limited, the Dallas Mavericks basketball organization (“Mavericks”), the Mavericks commissioned an independent investigation into the claims. The investigators, comprised of two outside law firms, interviewed 215 witnesses and analyzed 1.6 million documents. The investigation report was publicly released on … Continue Reading
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson has denied the class-action status sought by a potential class of several thousand current and former players suing the National Hockey League (NHL) alleging that the league was negligent in its care and prevention of head trauma and that it fraudulently concealed the long-term impact of head injuries … Continue Reading
The Seventh Circuit has rejected antitrust claims filed against the NCAA by former Northern Illinois University student-athlete Peter Deppe and upheld the NCAA’s rule delaying the athletic eligibility of student-athletes who transfer to alternate schools without serving a “year in residence” at their new school before becoming eligible to resume their collegiate career. The Circuit … Continue Reading
