Media & Entertainment Law

Duke lacrosse lawsuits going forward, at least in part

Posted on April 01, 2011
Judge James Beaty of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina has denied, at least in part, the motions to dismiss in Evans v. City of Durham, the action by the three indicted Duke lacrosse players (they previously settled with Duke University) and the motions for summary judgment in Carrington v...

Happy April Fool's Day

Posted on April 01, 2011
Since it's April 1, a number of hoaxes have emerged concening sports. None perhaps compares to the great Siddartha Finch hoax of 1985, which is still a subject of conversation today. Still, for your amusement only, some of today's hoaxlines:LA Clippers to Replace Kings in SacramentoUniversity of Wisconsin Renames Camp Randall KFC/Taco Bell StadiumObama to Visit NY Social Sports Club Rec League

Call Me Ishmael

Posted on April 01, 2011
As I keep an eye and ear toward that Great American Sports Law Extravaganza known as The United States of America v. Barry Bonds, I happen to also be reading that Great American Novel Moby Dick. Their similarities are remarkable.Bonds, the all-time greatest in that most American of all sports, is that Great White Whale, larger than life, mysterious, unknowable, ?all that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy ...

5 Thoughts on David Ferrer's Infamous Lob and Losing One's Temper over a Crying Baby

Posted on April 01, 2011
28-year-old Spanish tennis player David Ferrer, who is ranked sixth on the ATP World Tour, became frustrated at a crying baby during the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericcson Open on Wednesday. Crowds in tennis matches are supposed to be quiet during play, but obviously -- and as we know from flying on air planes, eating out at restaurants, or attending religious services, among many other activities where we may encounter crying babies -- a baby doesn't have the same ability as an adult to "choose" to be quiet...

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New Sports Illustrated Column on Barry Bonds Trial: Has Bonds Already Won?

Posted on April 01, 2011
With the prosecution's case-in-chief nearly over, I have a new column for SI -- in it, I take a look at where things stand in the Bonds trial and what to expect going forward. Bonds should feel good about 4 of the 5 counts, but he's still very vulnerable to a conviction on Count Two...

Sports Law Blog on the Rise

Posted on March 31, 2011
Over on TaxProf Blog, Paul Caron has his annual traffic rankings for law professor blogs, and Sports Law Blog is #22 among them in terms of visitors and #23 in terms of page views. His numbers also show a 9% increase in visitors to our blog, and an 8% increase in page views on our blog, from 2009 to 2010...

ESPN Sues Conference USA

Posted on March 31, 2011
ESPN is reporting that it has filed a lawsuit against Conference USA, accusing the conference of breach of contract. Specifically, ESPN alleges that the conference breached a 2005 agreement by failing to provide the network with an opportunity to match the $42 million television broadcast agreement that C-USA recently signed with the Fox network...

New Sports Illustrated Video on Eller v. NFL

Posted on March 30, 2011
I was interviewed by Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated/CNN video to discuss a new lawsuit filed by Carl Eller, Priest Holmes and others on behalf of retired and prospective NFL players. Their core argument is that the NFL lockout and various NFL restrictions on trade, including the draft, are illegal under federal antitrust law -- an argument also made in Brady v...

My interview for PBS Frontline on O'Bannon v. NCAA

Posted on March 29, 2011
Here's a link to a transcript of my interview with Lloyd Bergman of PBS. The transcript is admittedly long - the interview was for over an hour and we covered a TON of ground for PBS' March Madness and Money feature.Here's an excerpt from the transcript:PBS: How significant is this case? McCann: It's a very significant case, particularly because it's past the motion-to-dismiss stage...

Two Great Nights of Sports Law Related TV

Posted on March 29, 2011
1) Tonight at 9 p.m., PBS Frontline will air a feature on "Money and March Madness". It will primarily be about the O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit and will include interviews with Ed O'Bannon and Sonny Vaccaro, who last Friday delivered an outstanding keynote address at Harvard Law School's sports law symposium and who was recently the subject of a very interesting piece in the New York Times...

New sports law scholarship

Posted on March 29, 2011
Recently published scholarship includes: Rachel Blumenfeld, Dog baiting abatement: using nuisance abatement to regulate dogfighting, 17 SPORTS LAWYERS JOURNAL 1 (2010)Victor S. Broccoli, Williams v. NFL: the Eighth Circuit flags the NFL for interference with state drug testing laws, 17 SPORTS LAWYERS JOURNAL 283 (2010) Bradley R...

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Panel on "The Coming War: Sports Labor Relations"

Posted on March 27, 2011
Earlier, this month I joined several panelists -- Russ Granik (former NBA Deputy Commissioner), Tom Penn (ESPN analyst and former Blazers Assistant GM), George Postolos (former President and CEO of the Rockets), and Andrew Zimbalist (noted sports economist at Smith College) - at the 2011 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference to discuss labor wars in the NBA and NFL...

Dr. John Carlos to Speak at the West Virginia University College of Law

Posted on March 25, 2011
Dr. John Carlos, who along with Olympic teammate Tommie Smith were criticized for protesting on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Games, will discuss the evolving role of African American athletes in American culture and politics in a speech sponsored by the West Virginia University College of Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society...

Rutgers-Camden School of Law Sports Law Panel

Posted on March 24, 2011
Next Monday, March 28, the Rutgers School of Law Camden Sports & Entertainment Law Society will be hosting a sports law panel with an NFL-focus:Join us for an evening with a distinguished group of sports law industry professionals.Monday, March 28th, 7pm - 9pmRutgers School of Law CamdenRutgers Camden Campus Center ? Multi Purpose Room326 Penn Street, Camden NJPrior to the panel, all guests are invited to attend a reception and dedication of the Clark Commons at 5:30 pm on the law school Bridge (the Clark Commons)...

Top Rank v. Golden Boy -- the Sequel

Posted on March 24, 2011
Although legal disputes involving boxing do not occupy a large portion of my class time, there have been cases, notably involving breaches of contracts among boxers and promoters, that make for interesting reading and discussion. I use one or two to prove breach, damages and remedies...

2011 Southwestern Law School Sports Law Symposium

Posted on March 24, 2011
Darren Heitner has the story over on Sports Agent Blog (one of my favorite blogs, by the way) on this excellent upcoming symposium at Southewestern Law School in Los Angeles. Sports Law Blog contributor Warren Zola is one of the panelists and there are many other great panelists, too:* * *What: Business of Amateur Sports Symposium at Southwestern Law School When: April 8, 2011 (9:15 a...

On Creeping Underwear, Drooping Pants, and the NFL Personal Conduct Policy during the Lockout

Posted on March 23, 2011
Dress codes often generate controversy. Consider the debate following the NBA adopting an off-court dress code 5 years ago. Dress codes attract critique because they normally limit attire choices to those considered mainstream, while disallowing dissenting styles, typically on grounds that unconventional attire can be "unprofessional" or "inappropriate...

How I got into sports law and the NFL Lockout

Posted on March 22, 2011
Jared Pendak of the Valley News (serving Hanover New Hampshire and surrounding community) interviews me about how I got into sports law and also about the NFL lockout. Here's an excerpt:Valley News: Overall, how much leverage do you feel like the players have? Michael McCann: I think they have a lot of leverage until they start missing game checks...

Barry Bonds Trial Begins

Posted on March 21, 2011
Jury selection in the Barry Bonds perjury trial takes place today, with opening statements by the prosecution and defense set for tomorrow. I discuss the trial with NPR today on the Morning Edition program.Update: I have a new column for Sports Illustrated laying out the prosecution's case against Bonds...

Sports Law Blog Sparring Session Round I

Posted on March 20, 2011
This is the first post in a series of posts that will review of legal, regulatory, and contractual Issues in Boxing and MMA from the past several months. These posts are largely taken from a longer article I wrote for 8 Count News.Could Tyson Get Crapped on for Keeping Pigeons in New York?In honor of the debut of Animal Planet?s ?Taking on Tyson,? I took a moment to research whether it is illegal to raise pigeons in New York, Mike Tyson?s home state...

2011 Tulane Law School Moot Court Mardi Gras Invitational Sports Law Competition

Posted on March 18, 2011
Congratulations to the all of the participants in the 2011 Tulane Law School Moot Court Mardi Gras Invitational Sports Law Competition. All of the judges were impressed with the quality of the teams from the first round through the finals. I hope you enjoyed the competition and were able to find some time to take advantage of all that New Orleans has to offer (well, maybe not all of it) during Mardi Gras...

Ranking college sports loyalties

Posted on March 18, 2011
My Prawfs co-blawger Matt Bodie offers a ranking of college sports loyalties--covering everything from undergrad institution to law school to current employer to spouse's teams to hometown team. Offer your comments here or at Matt's post.

Sports Law Career Opportunity

Posted on March 17, 2011
The Oakland Athletics are currently looking to hire an assistant legal counsel with at least 4 years of experience in a corporate/transactional practice. For more information regarding the position, check out the job ad available here.

2011 Yale Law School Panel on Sports and the Law: Current Issues

Posted on March 17, 2011
On Monday, April 4, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., the Yale Law School Sports and Entertainment Law Society will be hosting a panel on contemporary sports law issues. The panel will be open to the public.Topics will include the NFL lockout, the possible NBA lockout, age and autonomy restrictions on professional athletes, digital media and the law, antitrust and sports, and many other topics...

Do fans appreciate taxes?

Posted on March 16, 2011
Via Paul Caron (TaxProf Blog and my source for all things tax-and-sports) comes the story of Bob Choate, a Houston Astros fan who last year won a year's supply of coupons to a Houston donut shop at Fan Appreciation Day and now is being taxed on more than $ 900 in "free" donuts.

Indiana Finds Fault in Death of Notre Dame Student Declan Sullivan

Posted on March 16, 2011
On Sports Illustrated Video I discuss the implications of yesterday's findings in the death of a Notre Dame student who was killed when the hydraulic lift he was on while taping a team football practice fell over in 53 mph winds.

College Football Pro Days

Posted on March 15, 2011
While much of the country watches the labor negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA (now the professional trade association) and figures that this will get resolved at some point before it impacts the season, it is having a direct impact on some pro prospects right now...

Quick Legal Links on NFL Lockout and Labor Crisis

Posted on March 15, 2011
* Ashby Jones of the Wall Street Journal: Everything You Need to Know About the NFL Antitrust Lawsuit* Tom Brady v. National Football League: The Complaint in PDF* My interview with WEEI Boston on the NFL crisis* Peter King of Sports Illustrated: Resolution Appears Closer than it Seems (I agree with Peter; I think a deal will get done before the 2011 season)* Mike Sando of ESPN: a number of great pieces on the NFL labor crisis.

NBA ref sues for defamation

Posted on March 15, 2011
NBA Ref Bill Spooner has filed a defamation action in federal court against the Associate Press and AP reporter Jon Krawczynski, based on a tweet that Krawczynski sent during a Timberwolves-Rockets game in January. Following a foul call on the Wolves, Wolves Coach Kurt Rambis disputed the call in a conversation with Spooner...

More NFL Lockout Links

Posted on March 15, 2011
More NFL links, adding to Mike's list from this morning: My interview with the Orange & Brown Report on scout.com (subscription required)Q & A with Prof. Gabe Feldman (Tulane) from the NFL network

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