Media & Entertainment Law

Cause and Effect Sports Law: Who Dat Style

Posted on January 28, 2010
As a trial lawyer who has seen any number of moves/reasons for a continuance of a trial, fellow members (and future members) of the trial bar take note: sporting events that enjoy the support of a community in which that team or school resides may provide a "basis" for a continuance...

3rd Annual Tulane Law School National Baseball Arbitration Competition

Posted on January 27, 2010
The 3rd Annual Tulane Law School National Baseball Arbitration Competition took place this past weekend at Tulane Law School. The event was a huge success, with 38 teams from schools across the country participating in a simulated baseball salary arbitration competition...

Mike Leach, football coaching, and law school

Posted on January 26, 2010
Geoff already commented on Mike Leach's new article in Texas Tech Law Review, talking about how law school prepared him to be a football coach. Geoff noted that Leach reports as an actual in-class event a version of a scene from The Paper Chase ("Go call your mother ...

West Legal Education CLE on "Guns Up! Legal Issues Surrounding the Firing of Texas Tech Head Football Coach Mike Leach"

Posted on January 26, 2010
Rick and I are hosting an on-line 1-credit continuing legal education tomorrow (Wednesday January 27) from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time with West Legal Center to discuss the assorted legal implications of Mike Leach's firing. A number of us on Sports Law Blog have discussed the Mike Leach firing...

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What Mike Leach Learned (Oops) in Law School: Is the Socratic Method to Blame for his Treatment of Players?

Posted on January 25, 2010
The Texas Tech Law Review has published an article by now former coach Mike Leach, A Legal Education Applied to Coaching College Football, 42 TEXAS TECH LAW REVIEW 77 (2009). Read in light of how Leach's season ended, as discussed by Mike here, and Howard here and here, the article is a very interesting glance at Leach's coaching philosophy and how his law school experience at Pepperdine may have shaped his attitude towards players...

DePaul University College of Law Sports Law Sympsium on "Sports and the Great Recession"

Posted on January 25, 2010
Geoff and I look forward to joining others in what should be a great sports law symposium at DePaul University College of Law on Friday, February 12. The title of the symposium is "Sports and the Great Recession." Here are the details:The 2010 DePaul Sports Law Symposium will explore how the recent economic downturn has affected sports leagues and teams, and how it will affect them going forward...

New SI.com Column on Impact of Javaris Crittenton's Plea Deal on NBA Career of Gilbert Arenas

Posted on January 25, 2010
I have a new SI.com column on the impact of Javaris Crittenton's plea deal on Gilbert Arenas. Here's an excerpt:* * *Crittenton will also meet with NBA commissioner David Stern, who has suspended Arenas indefinitely. Crittenton's comments during the meeting could damage Arenas' chances for reinstatement if he portrays Arenas as a dangerous bully or aggressor...

Is Bowl Swag Appropriate for Schools in Final BCS Standings?

Posted on January 24, 2010
David Grant of the Christian Science Monitor recently wondered why NCAA student-athletes can receive gifts worth up to $500 if they are able to play in Bowl Games, but during the season those same players are much more restricted in what they can receive because of their student-athlete status...

The worst sports league idea ever?

Posted on January 22, 2010
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog asks, "Would an All-White Professional Basketball League be Legal?" Apparently, someone wants to start a professional basketball league limited to "players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race ...

University of Miami Symposium

Posted on January 21, 2010
The Entertainment and Sports Law Society at the University of Miami School of Law is hosting its 13th Annual Symposium on Friday, February 5. The registration form, containing a list of the speakers, may be accessed here. It looks to be an outstanding event!

FCC Ends Cable's 'Terrestrial Loophole' Used to Prevent Sports Programming Blockage

Posted on January 20, 2010
The Federal Communications Commission took a major step to curb the power of cable operators to block sports programming access to rival telephone and satellite operators, a practice that has long irritated sports viewers. This policy, known as the "terrestrial loophole" was permitted until this order...

Lincecum Asks for $13,000,000

Posted on January 19, 2010
Today was the exchange number day for salary arbitration-eligible players and their teams. As expected, Tim Lincecum asked for a record amount ($13,000,000). The Giants countered with $8,000,000 leaving a midpoint of $10,500,000. As is always the case in the final hours and minutes before the exchange deadline, a significant number of deals were completed...

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Speaks out Against NBA Age Eligibility Rule

Posted on January 18, 2010
ESPN's Henry Abbott has a great interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who is a critic of the NBA's eligibility restriction, which requires that a player be 19 years old plus one year removed from high school in order to be eligible for the NBA Draft (the rule was negotiated in 2005; previously, players could join the NBA right after finishing high school)...

UF Sports Law Symposium to Examine Legal Playbook as Collective Bargaining Agreements expire

Posted on January 17, 2010
Several of us will be speaking at the University of Florida Levin College of Law on January 29 at the 2010 UF Sports Law Symposium. The general topic is what to expect in the collective bargaining of new agreements in the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball...

New SI.com Column and Washington Post Q/A on Gilbert Arenas's plea deal and potential sentence

Posted on January 16, 2010
I have a new SI.com column on the guilty plea by Gilbert Arenas. Here's an excerpt:* * *Judge Morin seems unlikely to impose a sentence in excess of the prosecutors' recommendation. While Arenas pleaded no contest in 2003 to a misdemeanor charge in California for illegally possessing a concealed weapon, he otherwise lacks the kinds of aggravating factors that would warrant a lengthy sentence...

New SI.com Column on Carlos Beltran and his Dispute with the Mets over his Knee Surgery

Posted on January 16, 2010
I have a new SI.com column on Carlos Beltran and whether he needed permission for the Mets for knee surgery and what the Mets can do in response. Here's an excerpt:* * *Interestingly, and understandably, the collective bargaining agreement does not expressly resolve how teams and players should reconcile differences in opinions over the appropriate course of a player's treatment and who should perform a particular surgery...

New SI.com Column on whether Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, or Rafael Palmeiro might confess to steriod use after Mark McGwire's admission

Posted on January 15, 2010
I have a new SI.com column titled "Don't expect Bonds, Clemens to offer their own confessions". Here's an excerpt:* * *Take Bonds. He remains a defendant in a criminal prosecution on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, specifically concerning whether he knowingly lied while testifying before a grand jury in 2003 that he did not use steroids...

Procedural Flaws in High School Transfer Decisions

Posted on January 14, 2010
I was forwarded a wonderful September, 2009 decision by an Indiana Appeals Court this week, Watson v. Indiana High School Athletic Association. Valerie Watson, a single mother supporting three children and one grandchild, decided to move from Elkhart to South Bend, IN, after facing salary reductions and foreclosure on her home...

New SI.com Column on Gilbert Arenas being charged with a felony and impact of a potential plea deal on his NBA career

Posted on January 14, 2010
I have a new SI.com column on Gilbert Arenas being charged with a felony and the potential impact of a plea deal on his NBA career. Here's an excerpt:* * *The Wizards would not have history on their side if they sought to use Clause 16 against Arenas, as it has seldom been employed to void NBA contracts...

American Needle v. NFL: Even More Coverage

Posted on January 13, 2010
Later today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in American Needle v. NFL. We have covered the case in great detail on Sports Law Blog. If you're interested in more analysis, here are some other links:1) I have a new Sports Illustrated column on American Needle...

Review of the American Needle Oral Argument

Posted on January 13, 2010
Lyle Denniston over at the fantastic SCOTUSblog has posted a recap of this morning's oral argument in American Needle v. NFL. By this account, it sounds like the Court was generally skeptical of the NFL's case.A transcript of the oral argument should be available later this afternoon...

The Baseball Research Journal issue on Baseball and the Law

Posted on January 13, 2010
While the American Needle v. NFL oral argument will garner most of the attention today, I thought that some might be interested to know that the Society for American Baseball Research has released the latest issue of its Baseball Research Journal containing a special section discussing baseball and the law...

New SI.com Column on Mark McGwire and Legal Fallout of His Admission

Posted on January 12, 2010
I have a new SI.com column that looks at the fallout of Mark McGwire admitting that he used steroids. Here's an excerpt.* * *3) What would have happened had McGwire talked about the past? If McGwire had denied using steroids -- that is, lie -- he would have set himself up for perjury charges...

Even more on American Needle

Posted on January 11, 2010
For even more on American Needle, I have a column up on the Huffington Post discussing some of the common misconceptions surrounding the case.Here's an excerpt:This case is a lottery ticket for the NFL. If they win, it could be a significant victory....

More American Needle v. NFL

Posted on January 11, 2010
With the American Needle v. NFL Supreme Court hearing just a couple of days away, there are some good commentaries to read including:1) Bill King of the Sports Business Journal has a thoughtful and extensive piece titled, "Supreme Court Weighs a Game Changer" He interviews a number of folks for the piece...

Ed Edmonds on Curt Flood Act and Rights of Minor League Baseball Players

Posted on January 08, 2010
Our own Ed Edmonds was interviewed by Garrett Broshuis, a pitcher in the San Francisco Giants organization and author of the Life in the Minors Blog, on the Curt Flood Act and Rights of minor league baseball players. Here's an excerpt of the interview:You've written about entities within minor league baseball lobbying Congress during the passage of this act...

Has the Mayweather-Pacquiao Drug Controversy Touched on The Cure for a Lack of Uniform Rules?

Posted on January 07, 2010
Consider the following hypothetical situation in light of the lingering dispute between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather over random drug testing. Following his dramatic back-to-back knockout losses to Carl (The Cobra) Froch and ?King? Arthur Abraham, former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain (Bad Intentions) Taylor is a given a bout contract for his upcoming fight with Andre Ward that contains the following provision: ?Parties agree that, in addition to the pre-fight medical examinations required by the California State Athletic Commission, the Parties shall submit to pre-fight medical testing identical to that which is mandated by the New York State Athletic Commission...

Gilbert Arenas Suspended by NBA: Will Contract Termination Follow?

Posted on January 06, 2010
A few hours ago, I did a Washington Post Q/A on the Gilbert Arenas suspension and addressed some questions about his contract and what the Wizards can do. Arenas was suspended indefinitely by the NBA because of his behavior over the last day. After sounding contrite on Monday and Tuesday, he made some questionable choices, such as pretending (clearly in jest, but not with great timing) to shoot his teammates during Tuesday night's Wizards-76ers game and making some questionable tweets...

Bloomberg Legal Expert and Supreme Court Reporter Greg Stohr on American Needle v. NFL

Posted on January 05, 2010
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg has a thoughtful commentary on American Needle v. NFL. He interviews several people, including me, for it. Here are some excerpts:* * *A broad ruling could insulate professional sports leagues from antitrust claims over video-game licenses, television rights, franchise relocation and even player salaries...

Sports Law 2010: Does the NBA Still Have Market Power?

Posted on January 04, 2010
In the 2002 case Fraser v. Major League Soccer, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury's finding that Major League Soccer clubs compete in an international market for men's professional soccer labor and thus lack enough "market power" to collude illegally under Section 1 of the Sherman Act...

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