Media & Entertainment Law

The Coming Federalization of Anti-Doping Policy

Posted on November 06, 2009
Just this past week, a Congressional subcommittee held a hearing on the recent Starcaps decision out of the Eighth Circuit. (I wrote about that decision here, and not all that favorably.) To refresh your recollection, the court decision allowed two NFL players, both named Williams and both playing defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, to assert claims for damages against the NFL in state court...

The Starcaps Case and the Impending NFL Labor Fight

Posted on September 21, 2009
The recurring drama of the National Football League season is off to a great start, except for the part where my beloved Patriots took it on the chin last week against the hated Jets. Looming over all the optimism of a new season is the much-anticipated labor crisis that threatens a return to the strike-filled era of the late part of the last century, an era in which sports unions flexed their young muscles against entrenched management interests...

Final Word On Delaware Lottery Decision

Posted on September 02, 2009
By the title of this entry I don't mean my final word. I'm referring to the very recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which decision most likely comprises the final word of the federal judiciary on Delaware's planned sports lottery...

Delaware's Next Step

Posted on August 25, 2009
I have only a few minutes this morning, but with the phone ringing and emails chirping I want to try to offer a few comments on the dark day in Delaware.1. The decision of the appellate court to convert the preliminary injunction appeal into a decision on the merits is problematic...

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Not the End in Delaware

Posted on August 24, 2009
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by the NFL and other sports leagues against the state of Delaware over its plan to offer a sports lottery. The injunction is a preliminary injunction, not a permanent one...

The (Un)Importance of American Needle

Posted on July 30, 2009
To most everyone's surprise, the American Needle litigation has found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. When that court grants cert it's usually to reverse, but because of the strange posture of this petition (both sides sought the grant), the usual rules don't apply...

Will Selig Reconsider Rose?

Posted on July 28, 2009
A few months ago I was given a chance to speak at the annual meeting of the Baseball Historical and Sociological Conference, an esteemed group of baseball historians and other researchers. I used my time to argue a favorite point in my agenda, specifically that Major League Baseball should allow Pete Rose to be admitted into the Hall of Fame...

NFL v. Delaware: Round II

Posted on July 24, 2009
All of the major professional sports leagues plus the NCAA today filed suit in federal court in Delaware. The "Leagues" as I'll call them are suing the state of Delaware (actually suing the governor, to avoid 11th Amendment complications) for its plan to offer sports wagers as part of its lottery as soon as this fall, just in time for that bettors' paradise known more commonly as the National Football League...

May Lawyers Play Golf?

Posted on July 22, 2009
I'll stipulate up front that I'm not the most socially adept person and make frequent blunders. (Luckily for me, I'm often accompanied by loved ones who are quick to point out my errors.) My question today has to do with the mix of sports, law and culture...

Podcast Links to Interview on Sirius Radio

Posted on June 22, 2009
Sarah Meehan, host of UnderScore Sports radio program on Sirius Radio, interviews me on my latest book, my next book, and lots of things in between.In Part One she reads a bit from my book. Here's the link to part one of the podcast.In Part Two, I say something too...

PAPSA Under Fire

Posted on March 26, 2009
(This was cross-posted on my new blog, Gaming Law Memo.)A state senator in New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Here's a link. (Note the nutty professor quoted toward the end...

Rethinking the PED Ban: The Rights of Cyborgs

Posted on February 24, 2009
I know I'll likely lose my last reader over this. (Goodbye Mom.) But, just like Alex Rodriguez, it's time for me to come clean on performance-enhancing drugs. As more than one email message has mentioned, every time this blog deals with the PED issue, TSLP quickly turns the cannon, aiming at the prosecutors, cops, reporters, parents ...

Alex Rodriguez and the Real Victim of Steroids

Posted on February 09, 2009
Two years ago I predicted everything that we see today would come to pass. Here's the link. All that was left was to fill in the blank with the names of the guilty. Finally, one leaked out. We should not be surprised that the name is probably the most famous name on the positive test list: Alex Rodriguez...

The Bonds Tapes

Posted on February 05, 2009
Today much of the evidence the federal government will present against Barry Bonds in his perjury trial was unsealed. I have yet to have a chance to review the entire file (I have a day job), but one piece of evidence in particular has received the pointed attention of the press: a tape recording of a conversation made by a business associate of Bonds...

Athletes, Guns and Money

Posted on December 02, 2008
New York Giants' wide receiver Plaxico Burress got himself shot yesterday and got himself arrested today. The shooting was accidental; nothing that happens after this will be. Burress has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm...

Obama Playing Fantasy Football

Posted on November 23, 2008
President-elect Obama has recently added his presidential-elect voice to the chorus calling for the demise of the BCS college football championship. The primary reason for eliminating the BCS and instituting a playoff for the top level of college football is the desire to crown a "true champion...

What Golf Can Teach the Rest of Us (Part Three)

Posted on November 14, 2008
Here at TSLP International, we're studying three of the many lessons we can take from the great game of golf. (Ideally, we'd be examining this issue at a golf course.) Part One described the fledgling golfer's manner of financing, and wondered why other young professionals (lawyers, college athletes) couldn't fund their formative years in the same way...

ESPN vs. Sports Illustrated

Posted on November 07, 2008
In this corner, we have the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports, which has added to its multiple cable television channels a weekly sports magazine and a heavily visited website, and which can justly claim to have revolutionized sports viewing in the U...

What Golf Can Teach the Rest of Us (Part Two)

Posted on November 06, 2008
In Part One I discussed how golf teaches us how to fund legal education and college athletics. (And they say golf is a waste of time.) In Part Two, we'll see how golf can fix sport's most pervasive problem. No, I'm not talking about drugs and groupies; I'm talking about money...

Public Funding of Private Sports Stadiums

Posted on November 02, 2008
It is something of a litmus test among sports academics and other commentators: to be admitted to the club, one must be against public funding of sports stadiums. Everyone's against it. The chief reasons are several: that funding constitutes a subsidization of the wealthy, that new stadiums do not pay off economically in terms of increased business activity, and that new subsidized stadiums ultimately generate ticket prices that are beyond the financial reach of the average fan...

New Book! A Must Read for (My) Christmas

Posted on October 29, 2008
Looking for the ideal Holiday present? I mean for me. How about buying my new sports law book and giving it to someone, even yourself? It makes an ideal gift for any religious holiday, birthday, or even your anniversary. Taking Sports Seriously: Law and Sports in Contemporary American Culture takes on all the fun issues of sports law, collecting a selection of my essays from this and other blogs, opinion journals and lawyer newspapers, plus a few items that have yet to appear anywhere...

What Golf Can Teach the Rest of Us (Part One)

Posted on October 28, 2008
Golf is a great sport for many reasons, just one of which is the fascinating counterpoint it provides to the other professional sports, and perhaps even to much of life. For golf is unique, even among the individual sports. Professional golf is pure, unalloyed competition...

Book Notes: Game On

Posted on October 12, 2008
Tom Farrey, Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children (ESPN Books, 2008)Sorry for the inattention, blog readers, but a recent motorcycle accident knocked out a few weeks I'll never get back. (I performed an aerial maneuver while my bike stayed on the ground...

Book Notes: Game On

Posted on October 05, 2008
Tom Farrey, Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children (ESPN Books, 2008)Sorry for the inattention, blog readers, but a recent motorcycle accident knocked out a few weeks I'll never get back. (I performed an aerial maneuver while my bike stayed on the ground...

All's Not Perfect With Sports Either

Posted on September 04, 2008
A paper (linked here, which I came across here) by law professor Clayton Gillette compares the market for law professors to the market for free agent professional athletes, notably baseball players. And guess what: the athletes come out on top! (Sports and law plus a little industry gossip: basically everything TSLP cares about, all in one paper!) Gillette's basic point is that sports free agency works pretty well for sports, in terms of bringing about at least a decent version of an optimal distribution of the best players among teams...

Tennis' Problem with Gambling

Posted on September 01, 2008
I'm no gambler. My infrequent trips to the local Indian casino, coupled with my annual entry into a friendly March Madness pool, have made it clear to me that gambling is, at least for me, a losing proposition. Yet just because I lose doesn't mean everyone does...

In English, Please

Posted on August 27, 2008
The Ladies Professional Golf Association stirred up some controversy this week with its announcement that soon LPGA tour players will be required to be able to speak English. SI.com has a good piece here outlining the tour's position and discussing its legality...

The Donaghy Sentencing and its Discontents

Posted on July 29, 2008
At least two well-devised descriptions of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's impending criminal sentencing and its ramifications are on the web. Lester Munson of ESPN.com, who seems to know everything (I say in awe, not sarcasm) supplies all the information one could want on the relevant sentencing issues here...

Slow Play and the Rules of Golf

Posted on July 26, 2008
It's golf season in the TSLP house, which means putts across the carpet, chip shots onto the sofa, and yard golf with plastic balls and crazy routes around the house for holes. The boys and I do get out to the real golf course too, once and a while, but the cost of a round limits us a little...

Let Them Run: Pistorius and the Olympics

Posted on May 22, 2008
People complain all the time about the corrupting influence of money in sports. I think it's just the opposite: the lack of money corrupts. Money purifies, giving every competitor the identical incentives to compete and win. Look at PGA tournament golf, for instance: no guaranteed salaries, no long-term deals; only the best finishers get paid, and the "best" is determined on the golf course each week...

What's Wrong with Metal Bats?

Posted on May 19, 2008
Twelve-year-old Steven Domalewski, a New Jersey boy, was struck just above his heart by a baseball hit by a high-tech TPX composite bat. The bat is manufactured by the Hillerich & Bradsby Company of Louisville Slugger fame. The boy's injuries are extensive and tragic...

Roger Goodell and the Cheating Scandal

Posted on March 10, 2008
The NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, appears soon to hear the claims of one Matt Walsh, a former Patriots videographer. From reports, it appears Walsh will claim that the Patriots went so far as to record the "walk-through" practices that teams sometimes conduct on the eve of games...

Legal Opinions For Free

Posted on February 10, 2008
Seldom does a day go by in the thrill-a-minute life of a sports law professor without being asked to give an opinion on Roger Clemens. Did he use performance enhancing drugs? Is he lying? Should he be elected to the Hall of Fame?I always give an answer, albeit just for fun not the same one every time...

Boston Forever?

Posted on January 28, 2008
Many have commented lately on the recent ascendance of Boston's professional sports teams. The Red Sox reign as champions, the Patriots have put together something of a dynasty and are on the (likely) verge of a perfect season, and even the lowly Celtics have posted the NBA's best record at the half-way mark...

Why Study Sports Law?

Posted on January 14, 2008
Recently over at some of my favorite websites geared to sports economists, an interesting discussion arose over whether or not and why a trained economist should spend his days studying sports. The biggest downside to the study of sports is that, apparently for an academic economist, the subject of sports economics veers dangerously close to career suicide...

Mitchell Report Reactions

Posted on December 13, 2007
I'm not a journalist and so am reluctant to offer the "instant analysis" demanded by media outlets. But with the phone ringing off the hook, coupled with my general reluctance to respond to media requests, I thought I'd put a couple of thoughts here on the blog...

Vick's Sentence Too Long

Posted on December 10, 2007
Twenty-three months in a federal prison without the possibility of parole.That's a harsh sentence for Michael Vick. The federal sentencing guidelines provide for lesser presumptive sentences for conduct that seems at least equally serious, if not more serious...

The Solution to the NFL Network Problem

Posted on November 27, 2007
Like many sports fans, I'm a little upset at the prospect of missing this week's big Cowboys-Packers NFL contest, and also missing the Patriots-Giants game a few weeks down the road. The reason for this prospect is the NFL's decision to allocate these games to its fledgling NFL Network in an effort to boost channel subscribers...

Book Notes: Running the Table

Posted on November 25, 2007
Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler, by L. Jon Wertheim (Houghton Mifflin 2007).So what's wrong with this picture? A young man, just a kid really, has trouble with traditional schooling and suffers from severe mood swings, chronic obesity and depression...

William

Posted on November 18, 2007
I can't let this day go by without remembering the birthday of my little boy William, my first-born son. He was as sweet and happy and active and beautiful a young child as you'll ever meet, and my wife and I were in shock when he was diagnosed with a rare and untreatable form of leukemia...

Collusion

Posted on November 14, 2007
Recently Donald Fehr, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, worried publicly about some of the grumbling by baseball executives concerning Alex Rodriguez' stupefying salary demands. (Three hundred and fifty million dollars does seem like a lot of money, at first blush...

The Ethics of Varmint Hunting

Posted on October 18, 2007
On occasion I find time to take my boys hunting for upland game birds, like pheasant and chukar partridge. We enjoy getting out in the far country under the big sky, working with the dogs and readying for the shot on the flush. I often miss my target, even with my big 12-gauge pattern (bad eyes), but my boys are crack shots, and despite using small gauge (2o) and bore (...

Book Notes: Dream Golf

Posted on October 10, 2007
Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes, by Stephen Goodwin (Algonquin, 2006)To understand Bandon Dunes and appreciate this book, you have to allow me to tell you a golf story. I hate golf stories and I never tell them because they are interesting only for the participants...

The Problem with NFL Player Agents

Posted on October 08, 2007
The NFL Players Association recently found itself in front of a Congressional committee over its suspension of agent Carl Poston. Poston is the agent who mishandled linebacker Lavar Arrington's contract with the Washington Redskins, leading to the apparent forfeiture of a six-million dollar bonus...

Bill Belichick's Interpretation

Posted on September 18, 2007
I continue to wait for one of the many commentators who love to call Patriots' coach Bill Belichick a "cheater" to explain how his conduct differs from the common "cheating" evident during every sports contest. Is intentional breaking of the rules "cheating"? If it is, then here's a story describing how the New York Jets cheated last week against the Ravens...

The Patriots Did Not Cheat

Posted on September 12, 2007
It looks pretty clear at this point that the New England Patriots, in violation of an NFL policy, stationed a video photographer on the sidelines during last week's game against the rival New York Jets. Apparently the photographer's job was to capture the Jets' defensive signals as they were relayed from the coaches to the players on the field, all with the hope of stealing their signs...

The NFL's Punishment of Michael Vick

Posted on August 22, 2007
With his guilty plea, Michael Vick will face sentencing in a federal district court. As I write, it appears Vick will plead to the charges filed, which means he will be convicted of one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. section 1952...

The Dubious Crime of Referee Tim Donaghy

Posted on August 17, 2007
Although details remain sketchy, we are now learning how NBA referee Tim Donaghy went afoul of the league's prohibition on gambling. One of Donaghy's sins was to alert his cronies as to the composition of the refereeing crew for each game. Each referee tends to call fouls a little differently, with some more whistle-happy than others...

Athletes as Role Models

Posted on July 29, 2007
With an NBA referee facing game-fixing accusations, pro quarterback Michael Vick accused of dog-fighting, and Barry Bonds' home-run chase reminding fans daily of baseball's perduring problem with steroids (which I've written about in the essays collected here), now seems as bad a time as any to gather some thoughts on the bromide about superstar athletes serving as role models for youngsters...

In Defense of Michael Vick

Posted on July 23, 2007
Before you throw down your mouse and storm off the internet in anger, hear me out on this one. I?m not going to make any technical legal arguments about search and seizure law: that?s for lawyers getting paid by the hour. Instead I?m going to try to address Vick?s alleged conduct on a more moral plane, considering the practice or ?sport? of dogfighting in a slightly broader context...

The Difficulty of Profiting from a Corrupted Referee

Posted on July 22, 2007
The big story this week concerns an NBA referee with a gambling problem who allegedly endeavored to fix game outcomes to favor his gambling cronies, to whom he was apparently indebted. At this point none of us know the full details, and maybe we never will...

Van de Velde Could Have Won

Posted on July 18, 2007
With the British Open returning to famed Carnoustie, focus again returns us to poor Jean Van de Velde who, in perhaps the biggest mistake in sports history (pending Michael Vick's disposition), lost a major championship that was his for the taking. Why did he lose it? Not because of poor golf swings or even poor judgment, as is commonly understood...

I Pine for Wood Bats

Posted on July 11, 2007
I still love the feel of the wood bat in my hands, even if I only have a fungo bat for practice drills. The metal bats and the distinctive ping sound they produce can't match wood. With wood, everyone knows immediately how well the ball was struck; all metal hits sound the same...

Pitch Counts and the Preference for Rules

Posted on July 08, 2007
It's July, and as every parent of a Little Leaguer knows, it's time for the annual Little League "All Stars" tournament. Yes, it's more than a little presumptuous to think that a ten-year-old boy, like the tiny TSLP Junior, can properly be called an all-star at anything, other than getting into mischief at school...

Donovan's Reef

Posted on June 05, 2007
University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan made a decision to work for the Orlando Magic, and then changed his mind. Maybe he should have been more certain of his preferences before signing the contract, but the fact is he wasn't. He made a mistake, and didn't know his own wishes until after the fact...

Final Entry from Boston

Posted on May 19, 2007
The last panel of the conference was comprised of the heads of three of sports major unions: Billy Hunter of the NBPA, Donald Fehr of MLBPA, and Gene Upshaw of the NFLPA. Most of their comments were (consistent with the theme of the conference) in the nature of informing attendees of the news...

Getaway Day

Posted on May 19, 2007
I am an occasional speaker at academic conferences, and know that the timing of the panel on which I am invited to speak is crucial. When the conference organizer asks me to present my thoughts at a Saturday morning panel, the only self-respecting response is to hang up the phone (and wait for the conciliatory call)...