Media & Entertainment Law

NHL wins in Coyotes Bankruptcy Litigation

Posted on June 17, 2009
Zach Lowe of The American Lawyer has the details on the NHL's victory. He interviewed me for his story. Here's an excerpt.* * *We couldn't wait four our regular sports law column to write about a federal judge's ruling Monday that Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie can't buy the the Phoenix Coyotes out of bankruptcy court and move the team to Canada without permission from the National Hockey League and other league owners...

Will Roger Goodell Let Plaxico Burress Play?

Posted on June 15, 2009
I have a new column on SI.com, here's an excerpt:* * *In [Drew] Rosenhaus' defense, Goodell has thus far declined to sanction Burress, who faces criminal charges for the Latin Quarter Club incident that occurred last November. Although the Giants suspended Burress for the last four games of the 2008 season, Goodell has not sanctioned Burress...

Catching Up with Links

Posted on June 11, 2009
* I was interviewed on Toronto 590 The Fan yesterday to discuss the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy saga. Geoff up some great links yesterday on the same topic.* I had several interviews on Cold Hard Sports to discuss such topics as whether David Ortiz has been slandered by rumors about using steriods and whether the list of 103 players who tested for steriods can be revealed by compulsion...

Hustlin' Chagaev

Posted on June 11, 2009
An Attempt to Unravel the Confusion Surrounding the Cancellation of the Rematch Between WBA Heavyweight ?Champion in Recess? Ruslan Chagaev and ?Champion? Nikolay Valuev On May 30, 2009, Ruslan Chagaev, 25-0-1 (17 KOs), the former Uzbekistani amateur sensation and undefeated World Boxing Association (the ?WBA?) heavyweight champion was scheduled for a rematch with boxing?s own ?Eighth Wonder of the World,? the seven foot, 300 plus pounds Nikolay Valuev, 50-1 (34 KOs), in Helsinki, Finland...

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Franchise Relocation Fees, Antitrust, in Phoenix Bankruptcy Court

Posted on June 10, 2009
We've given little attention so far to the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes, pending in federal bankruptcy court in Phoenix. The ongoing dispute over control of the team raises some important longstanding issues relating to franchise relocation and antitrust law...

Law Professors at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Posted on June 10, 2009
Last week, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, hosted its annual "Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture". The event featured ten law professors. Congratulations to Patricia Bryan (North Carolina), John Eastman (Chapman), our guest blogger Ed Edmonds (Notre Dame), Kathy Heller (Chapman), Hugh Hewitt (Chapman), Mitchell Nathanson (Villanova), Keith Rowley (UNLV), Alexander Sanders (Charleston), Brad Snyder (Wisconsin), John Tehranian (Chapman), who participated in the event...

NBA and English Premier League discuss commercial cooperation

Posted on June 09, 2009
The Premier League, the English soccer competition, and the NBA, the American national basketball association, are discussing a commercial cooperation. Both competitions are generally considered to be the most popular sports competitions in het world...

MLB's First Year Player Draft This Evening - A Thought About Free Agent Compensation

Posted on June 09, 2009
The first three rounds of baseball?s First Year Player Draft will take place this evening. The first round of the draft will be shown live on MLB Network. There will be five selections in the first round that constitute compensation for Type A free agents that were signed during the off-season...

Alan Milstein on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Nomination

Posted on June 07, 2009
After Ohio State star running back Maurice Clarett won a sweeping victory before U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in his 2004 case challenging the NFL's age eligiblity rule, the NFL appealed Judge Scheindlin's ruling and a three-judge panel on the U...

Tony La Russa Reaches Settlement over Fake Twitter Account Lawsuit

Posted on June 06, 2009
Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press interviews several people, including Harvard Law prof Wendy Seltzer and me, over St. Louis Cardinals' Manager Tony La Russa's recent lawsuit against Twitter and subsequent settlement over a guy creating a fake Twitter account, purporting to be La Russa...

Congressman Steve Cohen Takes Aim at NBA Age Limit

Posted on June 04, 2009
U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) has written to NBA commissioner David Stern and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter asking them to eliminate the NBA's age limit, 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)...

When should Congress be involved with sports?

Posted on June 04, 2009
Mike's post about Congressman Cohen's letter to David Stern urging repeal of the NBA's age limit raises an interesting question. Past efforts by members of Congress on the issue of steroids (hearings, letters to the Union and the Commissioner's Office, etc...

Does the NBA Age Limit Violate Age Discrimination Laws?

Posted on June 04, 2009
New York labor and employment attorney Louis Pechman of Berke-Weiss & Pechman has a very interesting analysis on the possibility of the NBA's age limit violating age discrimination laws. Here is an excerpt from his piece:Surprisingly lost in the discussion about whether age limits are appropriate for the NBA draft is the fact that many state laws prohibit employment discrimination against individuals who are eighteen or over...

David Price, Francisco Liriano, and the Saga of the Super Twos

Posted on June 01, 2009
On Saturday evening, the middle game of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays, Francisco Liriano and David Price, were the starting pitchers for their respective teams. Price picked up his first regular season win in the game after throwing 108 pitches in five and two-thirds innings, while Liriano dropped to 2-7 and his ERA increased to 6...

Ballpark t-shirt case in Texas?

Posted on May 31, 2009
A woman wearing a "Yankees Suck" t-shirt was threatened with removal from The Ballpark in Arlington last week. And the story is drawing some national attention. The Rangers have received a number of complaints about the word sucks and consider it impermissible profanity that is offensive to "many people...

What happens in Delaware...

Posted on May 29, 2009
The possibility of sports gambling in Delaware is one step closer to becoming a reality. In March 2009, Delaware Governor Jack Markell requested an opinion from the Delaware Supreme Court regarding the legality of Delaware?s proposed sports lottery. On Wednesday, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that the lottery does not violate the Delaware Constitution...

NPR on Sotomayor's baseball decision

Posted on May 27, 2009
Audio here.

The StarCaps Saga Continues

Posted on May 27, 2009
As you might recall, five NFL players?Kevin and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister, and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints?were suspended for four games last year after testing positive for bumetanide. Bumetanide, a diuretic, is banned under the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances (the ?NFL Policy?) because it can be used to mask the presence of steroids...

Perjury in Congressional Hearings on College Bowl System and the BCS?

Posted on May 27, 2009
Congress conducted hearings on the college bowl system earlier this month. Now, reporters have raised questions regarding whether bowl defenders committed perjury or acted in contempt of Congress in claiming that most bowl games are organized by charitable groups and that tens of millions of dollars earned by the bowls go to charity...

New Sports Law Scholarship

Posted on May 26, 2009
Recently published scholarship includes:Scott A. Anderson, A call for drug-testing of high school student-athletes, 19 MARQUETTE SPORTS LAW REVIEW 325 (2008)Genevieve F. E. Birren & Jeremy C. Fransen, The body and the law: how physiological and legal obstacles combine to create barriers to accurate drug testing, 19 MARQUETTE SPORTS LAW REVIEW 253 (2008)Jonathan F...

Judge Sotomayor's Sports Law Opinions

Posted on May 26, 2009
It's official: as Professor cummings predicted earlier this month, the President will nominate Second Circuit Judge and die-hard Yankees fan Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Perhaps more than any Supreme Court nominee in history, Judge Sotomayor has a long record of adjudicating major sports law cases, dating back to her time on the district court...

Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame

Posted on May 25, 2009
A commenter to my post on steroids and the Hall of Fame asks about Pete Rose. I thought it warranted a new post, rather than a comment. I actually wrote about this point three years ago.Rose should not be in the Hall, because different rules apply. Rose is ineligible for the Hall under Rule 3E, which bars selection of anyone who is on MLB's permanently ineligible list...

Hall of Fame, Steroids, and Cheating

Posted on May 23, 2009
Zev Chafets argues on ESPN that steroid users should not be kept out of the Hall of Fame. His argument is that steroid users are no different than players of past generations, many of whom engaged in questionable activities off the field (consorting with gamblers, the Klan, and gangsters) and were "happy to use any substance they thought would give them an edge" on the field...

"Redskins" Case and the Dangers of "Reply All"

Posted on May 20, 2009
After the Washington Redskins won at the D.C. Circuit last week, which I discussed here, the team's law firm learned a valuable lesson in the dangers associated with the "reply all" function of Microsoft Outlook. The legal gossip blog Above-the-Law has a series of e-mails exchanged by lawyers at the victorious law firm.

Will Michael Vick Return to the NFL?

Posted on May 20, 2009
I have a new SI.com column on this topic. Here's an excerpt.* * *What will Goodell do? He appears poised to reinstate Vick for the 2009 season, though probably with onerous strings attached, such as Vick facing permanent expulsion should he get into any trouble...

WADA-code in the EU

Posted on May 19, 2009
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the foundation which has been established to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in all forms of sport. In pursuing this aim WADA cooperates with intergovernmental organizations, governments, public authorities and other public and private bodies fighting against doping in sport...

On Jeremy Mayfield: You?ve Got a Fast Car, and an Unusual Drug Policy.

Posted on May 18, 2009
Let me start this post about Jeremy Mayfield?s indefinite suspension for violating NASCAR?s new drug policy with two admissions. First, for many years, my favorite stock car driver was Cole Trickle. Second, I have found myself shouting ?shake and bake?(in my head) after making a good point in class...

"Tie goes to the runner" and other myths

Posted on May 16, 2009
I recently have been reading journalist Bruce Weber's book, As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires. It is a fun read, providing great insight into the history, politics, and nuances of umpiring. I was interested in it for the insight it may shed on the much-despised judge-umpire analogy, this time from the umpire perspective...

"Redskins" win (again), for now

Posted on May 15, 2009
I've previously blogged about challenges to the trademark registration of the Washington "Redskins". Via How Appealing, the DC Circuit has once again affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs' challenge to the trademark because of laches in the Harjo case (for a discussion of the issues, see this law...

Andrew Oliver Scores Another Victory in Oliver v. NCAA

Posted on May 13, 2009
Back in February, an Ohio state court ruled in favor of Oklahoma State University star pitcher Andrew Oliver in his lawsuit against the NCAA (a decision that the NCAA will undoubtedly appeal once the trial is complete). Oliver had been suspended by OSU after news emerged that, years earlier, he had met with Minnesota Twins representatives with his attorneys while contemplating whether to retain his amateur status and attend college or turn pro after high school...

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