Catching Up: Flying around the country the past week or so has left me behind in updating, so my apologies. I should be on a more consistent schedule starting now. So, what has been going on?



The Bush administration has filed a brief supporting Roderick Jackson, a former high school basketball coach in Alabama. Jackson claims that he was fired in retaliation for his complaints that his women's basketball team did not receive the same funding as the men's team. He is seeking to bring a claim under Title IX, despite the fact that (1) he was not personally discriminated against and (2) Title IX does not explicitly allow a suit for retaliation. The Court will hear the case this fall. (Full disclosure: I worked on this case this summer.)



A federal appeals court has ruled that activists may have a right to picket on the sidewalk outside of Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians baseball team and mascot "Chief Wahoo," because the area is a public thoroughfare and not strictly private property. The 6th Circuit overturned a ruling that barred the protesters from gathering on the sidewalk, finding that the Gateway Sports Complex sidewalk outside Jacobs Field is fully integrated into the downtown and "indistinguishable" from an adjoining publicly owned sidewalk. The case is United Church of Christ et al. v. Gateway Economic Development Corp. of Greater Cleveland Inc., 2004 WL 1936001 (6th Cir. 2004).



Finally, the FCC has fined CBS and its affiliates across the country $550,000 for the Janet Jackson indecency incident during the Super Bowl this past January. It is by far the highest fine the FCC has handed down for indecency. But doesn't it seem that CBS should be able to go after Jackson and Timberlake for their respective roles in the incident?

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