Bengals Fan Sues Team: A former Bengals season ticket holder has sued the team, seeking a declaration that he does not owe over $40,000 after canceling his season tickets.Even though Menne told the team to cancel his season tickets knowing he would be forfeiting the $600 that he paid to buy the right to purchase four season tickets, the Bengals maintained Menne still owed $46,180 -- the cost of his four seats for eight years, even though he canceled them after only two years. Still unsure whether the letter was for real, Menne called the Bengals...

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Something to Keep an Eye On: This story is just beginning to emerge, but the Justice Department has begun making inquiries into ESPN, and specifically, how the network acquires and uses its college football and basketball programming.Details are just starting to come out, but the questions center on how ESPN will acquire the rights to all of a conference's games, televising only a few, but restricting any competitors from broadcasting the other games. The DOJ is starting by talking to the ACC, and I am sure much more will begin to emerge if there...

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Sport Court Rules Against Young: The Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled Monday that US sprinter Jerome Young should be stripped of a gold medal he won in the 2000 Olympics for flunking a drug test in 1999.Now, world sports officials must decide whether Young's relay teammates -- including Michael Johnson -- also should forfeit their medals.The Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found Young guilty of doping, was not asked to rule on his relay teammates. But the panel said it "does not necessarily accept that, in the unusual circumstances of...

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Victims of Olympic Park Bombing Can Sue: In an opinion issued yesterday, the Georgia Supreme Court held that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) can be sued by victims of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. The trial court granted summary judgment for ACOG and against the victims, who claim that lax security allowed the bombing to take place. A state appellate court reversed, stating that the determination should be made by a jury, and not a judge. The state high court upheld the reversal:[T]he [Recreational Property Act] limits, with...

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The NBA's Age Limit: Following another NBA draft that should have been televised by Nickelodeon, the questions have begun anew of whether the NBA can and should impose an age limit. Sports Law friend Mike McCann makes very compelling arguments that the great majority of players benefit from the decision. This I cannot dispute (at least not yet -- who knows what the future may hold?)But what is in the league's best interest? David Stern has made no secret of his desire to have an age limit (at 20). In addition, some NBA veterans have also expressed...

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Update on Armstrong: Not surprisingly, Lance Armstrong's attempts to stifle a book that accuses him of doping have not gone well. A French judge called his effort an "abuse of the system" and ordered the cyclist to pay a fine of $1800, as well as legal fees. He was also ordered to pay one symbolic euro in damages for faulty procedure.Armstrong, who has never been sanctioned for the use of a banned substance in his career, will try for a record sixth straight Tour de France title on Saturd...

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More on the Duty Owed at Sporting Events: Earlier this month, a Massachusetts appellate court ruled that a professional baseball team does not have a duty to warn fans of the "obvious risk" of a foul ball being hit into the stands.Now, a New York appellate court has used another baseball case to rule that the assumption of risk doctrine applies not only to active observers, but also to bystanders at sporting events. The case, Sutton v. Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Inc., dealt with a person who was not watching a soccer game and a...

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On Slacking Off: I apologize for the decline in the number of posts over the last few weeks. I have found myself much busier this summer that I had previously imagined I would be, and as a result have found less time for blogging. This should all change, though, no later than after the 4th of July. Thank you for continuing to read -- I will work hard to ensure there is a consistent amount of new and interesting materi...

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Perhaps the Fans Do Care?: I wrote in a post earlier this year about how fans are often willing to forgive off-the-field problems so long as the team is winning. But when the team is not winning, a scandal can give fans a perfect excuse for dropping their support.Witness the University of Colorado. After a 5-7 season, the team has been making headlines all summer for recruiting scandals and stories of sexual exploits involving players. The coaching staff and the administration have been implicated as having known of at least some of these problems...

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Trial Set on Knight's IU Firing: A judge has set a date for a one-day trial to determine whether Indiana University must release records related to its firing of former coach Bob Knight in 2000. Knight was fired for violating a "zero tolerance" policy by grabbing the arm of a student and is claiming breach of contract.You can view Knight's old Indiana contract here.You can view his current Texas Tech contract here.Stay tuned for the Ohio State contract... (but don't hold your breat...

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Importance of Olympic Bombing Ruling: Law.com has an interesting article on the ramifications of a state court ruling in the Richard Jewell case. As a reminder, Jewell sued the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for libel following the accusation that he was the Olympic bomber at the 1996 Games.Earlier this month, the court ruled that Jewell could not obtain the identity of the paper's anonymous sources, seriously impeding the path of the former security guard's lawsuit. The ruling prevents a difficult decision for the paper:Mather's ruling on sources...

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Sports Law Headed to SCOTUS: Sports has made an incredible difference in numerous areas of the law, but perhaps its biggest influence has been in the realm of gender equality. Perhaps moreso than any other law, Title IX has brought women's issues to the forefront of national attention. The law's guarantee of equality in sports has paralleled growing equality in other segments of life and has proved to millions everywhere that women have the same talents, if not greater, than their male counterparts.Gender relations could take another step forward...

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Armstrong Fights Accusations: The story of Lance Armstrong is one of inspiration and a man's triumphant struggle over a deadly disease to achieve the pinnacle of athletic achievement. But a lot of people think this story is tainted. In a book to be released in the coming weeks, Armstrong is accused of using the performance-enhancing drug EPO during his record Tour de France streak. The allegations come from Emma O'Reilly, who worked for over three years as Armstrong's masseur, physical therapist and personal assistant.Armstrong, who is constantly...

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Baseball Owners Not Liable for Foul Ball Injury: A person of "ordinary intelligence" understands that a risk of attending a baseball game is that batted balls could enter the fan area. This conclusion is at the heart of a Massachusetts state court decision that held the Red Sox owed no liability to fan injured by a foul ball at Fenway Park in 1998. Ten minutes after arriving at Fenway, the plaintiff was struck with a foul ball, shattering her facial bones and putting her in critical condition. Her medical bills totaled nearly half a million...

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A King's Ransom in Sacramento: Apparently, the city of Sacramento made a rash decision in 1997: loan the city's single professional sports franchise $70 million to help it overcome financial difficulties and remain in the city. In addition, the city made a second loan to the team, to assist it in paying back the first loan. I can only imagine Prof. Sauer's reaction as he reads this. Due to this odd structure, the team has only made a dent in the amount owed, having paid back only $1.5 million of the principal. And, of course, the team now wants...

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The End of Hockey For How Long? Now that the Lighting have broken the hearts of Canadians everywhere, the focus shifts to how much longer it will be before another NHL game is played. Many predict that it will be a long time and that hockey will look much different when it returns. Thomas Boswell has an interesting piece on the disaster towards which hockey is moving. As he correctly points out, the labor dispute mirrors that of major league baseball’s 1994 strike, but with one big difference:Baseball is America's national pastime. Hockey is...

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Sports and Criminal Trials: Bob Cohn of the Washington Times takes an interesting, if not somewhat apparent, look at the impact of celebrity in the criminal trials of professional athletes.Perhaps money can't buy happiness. But it can buy good lawyers. Beyond that, there is a widespread perception that because of the fame and adulation they often receive, athletes are afforded special treatment by the legal system. In many cases, the perception is the reality. "I think we're a society where everybody is struck by celebrity," said Rich Lapchick,...

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The Problems of 'Pay-for-Play': The Orlando Sentinel features an article on the NCAA's major problems with a system of compensation for college athletes in 'revenue-producing' sports. The main argument is the same: paying football and basketball players out of those sports' revenues decreases the funding for the many other non-revenue spor...

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More on Mike Williams: Former (and perhaps soon to be current) USC wide receiver Mike Williams is taking steps towards seeking reinstatement from the NCAA. Apparently, Williams has more to do than just renounce his agent contacts, since he has taken a trip on a private jet and accepted numerous gifts. The NCAA is now faced with the precarious situation of a player who wants to be back in school but a tough decision that could create a dangerous precedent of receiving compensation but being allowed back in school.On the other hand, the facts...

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Use of 'Victim' Barred at Bryant Trial: Kobe Bryant and the Lakers may have been victims of a devastating Pistons defense (no pity here), but at his criminal trial, his accuser will not be called "victim."In a ruling made public Monday, state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said he agreed with Bryant's lawyers that the term implies guilt and should not be used at trial. He said she must be referred to by name; or in jury instructions, where she must be referred to as "person.""Its use under these circumstances could improperly suggest that a crime...

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