Landmark reform to restrict colleges’ aggressive early recruiting tactics of student-athletes is on the agenda at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Council April 12-14 annual meeting. One item, Proposal 2016-26, could make lacrosse the pilot program for creating specific restrictions for the recruiting of high school athletes prior to the beginning of their … Continue Reading
The criminal conviction of two sports agents for smuggling Cuban baseball players into the United States in an attempt to sign them to lucrative contracts serves as a reminder for agents, potential agents, and everyone else in the sports industry that compliance with the law is essential, even in the competitive business of sports management. … Continue Reading
Federal Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero struck a blow to MLB when he reversed course on his earlier decision and recertified a minor league collective and class action against MLB. In July 2016, the court decertified the minor league collective and class action in Senne, et al. v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., et al., … Continue Reading
New York Jets player Darrelle Revis is entering the third year of his approximately $70 million five-year contract with the team. He is slated to receive a $13 million base salary ($6 million fully guaranteed) and a $2 million roster bonus this season, but only if he remains on the Jets roster. Unfortunately, the cornerback … Continue Reading
Scholarship football players in Division I FBS private sector colleges and universities are employees under the National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Richard F. Griffin has concluded. Accordingly, he explained, the players have all of the rights and protections available to employees under the Act. Click here to read the full … Continue Reading
University of Minnesota football players announced on December 15 that they are boycotting all football activities, including their December 27 Holiday Bowl game against the Washington State Cougars, to protest the University’s decision to suspend 10 teammates over a sexual assault allegation, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. The University adopted an affirmative sexual consent … Continue Reading
While the nation and the world react to the victory of President-elect Donald Trump and theorize what his impending presidency will mean for national policy, the world of sports is not immune from similar meditation. The international nature of professional and collegiate sports has continued to grow during the early portion of this millennium and … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in a recent Advice Memorandum (NLRB Case No. 13-CA-157467), has effectively ended the closely-watched enforcement action against Northwestern University on whether certain intercollegiate student-athletes are statutory employees for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB had declined in August 2015 to assert jurisdiction over a representation petition … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a decision holding that NCAA athletes did not have to be paid beyond the cost of attending college. NCAA v. O’Bannon, Nos. 14-16601, 14-17068 (9th Cir. Sept. 30, 2015), cert. denied, No. 15-1167 (Oct. 3, 2016). A U.S. district court had decided the NCAA’s use of the … Continue Reading
First it was the National Basketball Association. Then, the National Collegiate Athletic Association joined in. Now, the Atlantic Coast Conference has followed the other governing bodies in taking punitive action against North Carolina in response to a state law that curbs anti-discrimination protection for those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The ACC, headquartered … Continue Reading
In the nine years I served on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions (COI), we processed roughly 120 major infractions cases. Most were handled through in-person hearings, but a few were handled on paper, through the summary disposition process. To the extent university presidents and other institutional staff members felt bold enough to voice … Continue Reading
Major League Baseball has asked a California federal court to dismiss a proposed class action claim that accuses the league of failing to sufficiently protect spectators with safety netting. Brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Gail Payne et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al., 4:15-cv-03229, … Continue Reading
District Court Judge Loretta Biggs has dismissed the NCAA from the putative class action filed by former UNC-Chapel Hill women’s basketball player Rashanda McCants and former UNC football player Devon Ramsay alleging state law claims against the NCAA and UNC. McCants, et al. v. NCAA, et al., No. 1:15-cv-176 (M.D. N.C. Aug. 12, 2016). The … Continue Reading
NFL-appointed Arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision to uphold Commissioner Roger Goodell’s suspension of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson for alleged child abuse was proper, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled. NFL Players Association v. National Football League et al., No. 15-1438 (8th Cir. Aug. 4, 2016). The decision marks a … Continue Reading
In the latest efforts to improve player safety, the NFL and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) have announced an agreement to implement specific penalties for violations of the league’s game-day concussion protocol. The agreement calls for greater mandates on player protection and higher penalties for non-compliance. Player concussions in the NFL increased by an … Continue Reading
A federal Magistrate judge in San Francisco has sided with Major League Baseball against former minor league players in an effort to have their lawsuit claiming minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act certified as a collective action and their state wage and hour claims certified as a class action. Chief … Continue Reading
The University of Tennessee announced on July 5, 2016, that it had settled a Title IX lawsuit filed against it by eight female plaintiffs for $2.48 million. The women alleged that the University fostered a culture of indifference by ignoring sexual assaults committed by athletes, which, in turn, created a hostile environment for females on … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York has denied New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s petition for a hearing en banc over his suspension for allegedly taking part in a plot to deflate footballs. As Patriots fans prepare for the first four games of the 2016 season without their perennial … Continue Reading
Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) have introduced the Save America’s Pastime Act (SAPA) to preserve the decades-old minor league pay structure which prevents players from receiving overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (Bustos withdrew her support for the legislation almost immediately after its introduction following her constituency’s negative reaction, … Continue Reading
Reacting to growing concerns about brain trauma, the eight Ivy League football coaches have added to the Ivy League’s restrictive rules limiting contact during spring and preseason practice by unanimously voting to eliminate all full contact drills from regular season practices. The formal adoption of the decision is anticipated during an upcoming vote of the … Continue Reading
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed new guidance for adjudicating O-1 visa petitions for athletes and other individuals of extraordinary ability in certain fields. If the proposal becomes effective, athletes will have greater flexibility in satisfying the O-1 visa criteria. Under current USCIS regulations, an athlete may qualify for an O-1 visa … Continue Reading
The NCAA has voted to modify its existing rules dramatically to permit high school baseball players drafted in the Major League Baseball (MLB) amateur draft to hire agents to negotiate contracts with the Major League teams that drafted the players, without sacrificing college eligibility should they fail to successfully negotiate a professional contract. The NCAA’s authorized use … Continue Reading
An Illinois school district has violated anti-discrimination laws by not allowing a transgender student who identifies as female and is on her high school’s girls’ sports team to change and shower in the girls’ locker room, the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has held. The OCR released its findings on … Continue Reading
The United States Soccer Federation released new guidelines banning the practice of heading a soccer ball by children under the age of 10. The new guidelines also prohibit children between the ages of 11 and 13 from heading soccer balls in practice, but permit it in games. The guidelines are part of a resolution reached … Continue Reading
