Letter to Mr. Stern: Larry Brown's Award Should be All or Nothing

Dear Mr. Stern:Yesterday, you arbitrated Larry Brown's dispute over $40 million owed on his contract following his firing by the New York Knicks (see Geoffrey Rapp's previous summary of the legal issues involved in the dispute). Keep in mind that you are serving as an arbitrator, and not as a mediator, of a legal dispute that involves a simple legal question: Did the Knicks terminate Brown for cause? -- however that term is defined in the contract. If the answer is yes, then Brown gets nothing. If the answer is no, then Brown gets $40 million....

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Should "Competitive Balance" Be Ejected From Sports Antitrust Jurisprudence?

Temple Law professor Salil Mehra and Pepper Hamilton associate Joel Zuercher have posted a copy of their forthcoming paper Striking Out 'Competitive Balance' in Sports, Antitrust and Intellectual Property, forthcoming in the BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL. Here's an abstract of the paper, which can be downloaded free of charge from here:Professional sports leagues enjoy a unique justification in defending their seemingly anticompetitive practices under the antitrust laws: They allegedly need to maintain competitive balance. According to the argument,...

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How much is exclusion from youth hockey worth?

One Canadian man thinks the exclusion of his three children from a Canadian youth league is worth $100,000 (ed. note: that's 100K in monopoly money...which works out to about 90,000 USD). Says the plaintiff: "My kids are pretty upset. Their friends are all playing hockey. They're getting teased at school because they can't play. They're 11, eight and six and they're having to put up with this." The kids were excluded after the league deemed false the father's allegations that a coach physically abused his daughter. Hat tip to Frank Snyder's...

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Paul Haagen's Faculty Associates Plan for Duke University

Duke Law Professor Paul Haagen, who teaches sports law, is head of Duke University's Academic Council, and is a former college lacrosse player, has proposed that Duke University professors be individually assigned on a voluntary basis to Duke sports teams. (Jane Stancill, "Duke Sports Idea Roils Professors," News & Observer, 9/21/2006). The match-up would serve as...

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Terrell Owens and Jumping to Conclusions

As you know, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens may have attempted to commit suicide last night by overdosing on the painkillers that he was using for his hand injury. Thankfully, Owens is okay physically, as he checked out of the hospital earlier this morning. He will address the media later this afternoon. It should be noted that while an internal police report that...

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Revolving Doors in Sports: Conflicts of Interest When Players Go Front Office?

Congratulations to Steve Yzerman, recently retired from his role as a Detroit Redwing hockey player, on moving to a new job as “vice president” of the team. Thank goodness he'll be gainfully employed, since I’m sure his finances have taken a hit since his retirement at the end of last season. In professional sports, some newly retired players take breaks to spend time with...

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New Sports Law Scholarship

New this week:Emily Tumbrink Brackstone, Case note, Civil rights--Title IX--an individual may maintain a private right of action under Title IX when the federal funding recipient retaliates against the individual due to his complaints about sex discrimination, discussing Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ., 544 U.S. 167, 2005, 73 TENNESSEE LAW REVIEW 115 (2005)Andrew M. Jones, Comment, Hold the mayo: an analysis of the validity of the NBA’s stern no preps to pros rule and the application of the nonstatutory exemption, 26 LOYALA LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT...

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Why is the NFLPA after Carl Poston?

Two months ago, super agent Carl Poston's agent license was officially suspended for 2 years by the NFLPA for his alleged negligent conduct in the negotiations of LaVar Arrington's contract extension with the Redskins that took place back on December 26, 2003 via long-distance telephone and facsimile between Poston (who was at his office in Houston) and the Redskins personnel (who were in Washington). Earlier this year, the NFLPA issued a disciplinary complaint against Poston claiming that he was negligent by certifying a contract on behalf of...

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Let's Not Go Crazy: NFL Rules on Eliciting Crowd Noise

The New York Times' John Branch has an interesting story today on NFL efforts to overcome crowd noise ("For NFL, Crowd Noise Has Become a Headache," 9/24/2006). The NFL has been fielding more and more complaints from teams that crowd noise has led to too many off-side penalties. Basically, the louder the crowd, the less teammates are able hear each other before a play begins....

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The Citgo Sign Behind Fenway Park and Fearing Hugo Chavez

In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called President Bush "el diablo" which means "The Devil." Although Chavez's speech drew loud applause and cheer in the Assembly, it has generated a great deal of disdain in the United States, as has his remark that Bush is "an alcoholic." Chavez's remarks have also lead...

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Chief Illiniwek Lives to Offend Another Day

On Tuesday, an Illinois appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit filed by the Illinois Native American Bar Association against the University of Illinois concerning the “Chief Illiniwek” mascot. The court’s opinion is available at Illinois Native American Bar Ass'n v. University of Illinois by Its Bd. of Trustees, 2006 WL 2684269 (Ill.App. 1 Dist.,2006)....

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Game of Shadows' Authors to be Jailed: Rethinking the Reporter's Privilege

San Francisco Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada are set to be jailed unless they agree to testify about who leaked them grand jury testimony regarding Barry Bonds and other players alleged to have used illegal steroids (update: also check out an excellent post by Jeffrey Standen on this topic on his new blog on sports law). Back in March, we discussed...

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Redskins' Latest Woe: Closed Captioning Lawsuit Filed

The WSJ Law Blog unearths this tidbit from the Washington Post:The National Association of the Deaf has filed a lawsuit against the Washington Redskins to get team officials to offer closed-captioning for the deaf and hearing-impaired at FedEx Field.The class-action suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, says the team is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities...

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Do Pro Athletes’ Spouses Waive Privacy Rights?

It may seem obvious that professional athletes have diminished expectations of privacy when compared to a typical person. See O'Brien v. Pabst Sales Co., 124 F.2d 167, 169-170 (5th Cir. 1941), cert. denied, 315 U.S. 823 (1942) (professional athlete waived privacy right by previously seeking publicity); see also Laura Lee Stapleton & Matt McMurphy, The Professional Athlete’s...

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Devern Hansack: 24-Year-Old Prospect or 28-Year-Old Journeyman?

Devern Hansack is a minor league pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He was the team's best Double A pitcher this year while pitching for the Portland Sea Dogs. He finished up especially strong, giving up only 5 runs, walking 7, and striking out 28 in his last 30 innings pitched. To cap off his run, he won both games that he started in the Sea Dogs' Eastern League Championship...

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Buckeyes Appeal O'Brien Contract Case Decision

The Ohio State University has appealed former basketball coach Jim O'Brien's $2.4 million courtroom victory, which Rick noted here. Mike had an earlier post giving a nice background of the case. No indication of the issues raised on appeal yet; I'm working on locating a copy of the bri...

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NCAA, Division II, and Financial Aid

A friend of mine is working on a project and would be interested in any thoughts or suggestions on this question:Can a Division II college exempt student athletes from its general financial aid program? That is, if a student athlete is awarded an athletic scholarship, can the college then take them out of the general pool for need-based financial aid? Result would likely be that the athletes receive their athletic scholarship but not the entire academic amount, even though under a need-based analysis, they would potentially qualify for funding...

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WSJ Profiles NHL Deputy General Counsel

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal profiled (subscription required) NHL Deputy General Counsel Julie Spar Grand. As WSJ law blogger Peter Lattman attests, Ms. Grand seems quite satisfied with her sports law position: Julie Spar Grand is a deputy GC at the National Hockey League. The 36-year-old Penn law grad loves her job. So much so, that in responding to the question “worst...

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New Developments in Russia's Battle with the NHL

A month ago, I posted a story on Russian hockey phenom Evgeni Malkin, who bolted from his Russian professional hockey league team, the Metallurg Magnitogorsk. At that time, it was widely-believed that Malkin, who was already under contract for this season with the Metallurg, would quickly sign a multi-million dollar contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted Malkin with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 draft. Well, since my post last month, Malkin signed a contract with the Penguins worth up to $3.8 million. And last Saturday, Jason...

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Jerrell Powe Drops Lawsuit Against Ole Miss: Where Will He Now Play Football?

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed football phenom Jerrell Powe's victory in court against the University of Mississippi regarding his eligibility to play there. Sensitive to the recent University High School scandal and to related and myriad revelations of high school diploma mills, the NCAA had denied Powe's eligibility due to concerns about the legitimacy of his high...

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New Sports Law Scholarship

New this week: Jonathan Bell, Student article, Ticket scalping: same old problem with a brand new twist, 18 LOYOLA CONSUMER LAW REVIEW 435 (2006)Jessica K. Foschi, Note, A constant battle: the evolving challenges in the international fight against doping in sport, 16 DUKE JOURNAL COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL LAW 457 (20...

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Do We Take Youth Sports Too Seriously?

In the spirit of Keith Olberman's nightly "Worst Person in the World" award, I bring you Mark R. Downs, Jr.:UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A baseball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn't play was convicted Thursday of two lesser charges against him, and evaded more serious charges.A jury convicted 29-year-old Mark R. Downs Jr. of corruption of minors and criminal solicitation to commit simple assault, Fayette County authorities said.Authorities said Downs offered to pay one of his T-ball players, Keith Reese,...

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Islanders Sign Goalie Through the Year 2022!

Kevin Allen of USA Today reports that the New York Islanders just signed goaltender Rick DiPietro to a 15-year, $67.5 million deal ("Islanders sign DiPietro to record 15-year deal"). Allen notes that the deal is believed to be the longest term player contract in NHL history, although Wayne Gretzky had a 21-year deal that included some personal service stipulation. There's...

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Them Aren't Fighting Words: Boston University's Need for "Wholesome Cheers"

Boston University has a new policy for those attending their sporting events: if you swear or make a racist or sexist comment, and someone else hears it and complains about it, you will be tossed from the stands (Maria Cramer & Sarah Schweitzer, "BU Moves to Clean Up Foul Language at Games," Boston Globe, 9/12/2006). This policy most affects the BU men's hockey games,...

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Fallout from "Resolved" Deion Branch Saga: Fines, Tampering Charges, and Mind Games?

The New England Patriots have resolved their embittered contractual dispute with hold out wide receiver Deion Branch by trading him to the Seattle Seahawks for the Seahawks' 1st round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. When compared to other recent trades of high profile wide-receivers (e.g., Donte Stallsworth only fetching the Saints a 4th round pick and reserve linebacker Mark...

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Sports and Stadium Security, Five Years Later

Chris Dade of the Beaumont Enterprise has a great feature story on legal issues surrounding stadium security and how views about those issues, and sports in general, have changed since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks ("When Games Really Mattered," 9/10/2006). Dade interviews several people for this story, including me. Here are some excerpts:As in other times of...

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New Sports Law Scholarship

New this week: Howard M. Wasserman, Fans, free expression, and the wide world of sports, 67 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH LAW REVIEW 525 (20...

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Love is Bullshit

I do not believe in love. Why you may ask? I'll tell you why.   Love is insanity. It will make you do things a normal person would not. Love will make you drain a retirement account and give it to a woman to redo her home. Then, it leaves you with bitterness as she promptly dumps you when the 401(k) has been tapped.   Love will make a battered woman return to her husband time and time again even though he has beaten her so bad that he has ruptured both her eardrums.   Love will also make you step all over a good thing, viz. Rhett...

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Overseas Epiphany? Coach K Now Opposes NBA Age Limit

We spend a lot of time on this blog discussing the NBA age limit, and doing so has generated some great debates. To continue in that tradition, I bring you news that Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski--a longtime supporter of a higher NBA age limit--has done a 180 and now vehemently opposses it. Ken Tysaic of the Charlotte Observer has the story on Krzyzewski's...

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The NFL's New Sideline Ban: Another League Effort to Control Content

The NFL season kicks off this weekend. But for the first time this season, you will not see the same coverage that you experienced in the past from your favorite local T.V. newscaster before and after the game. That's because last March, NFL owners adopted a resolution that bans local television photographers from the sidelines during regular season games. The only media affected by the new rule are local television photographers. The new rule does not impact still photographers from newspapers or other print outlets. All local stations, including...

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The Straight Edge

I have a cousin who is an addict. His preferred drugs are alcohol and cocaine, and he has stolen cars, merchandise, and money to support those habits. He is incarcerated now. He had been out of prison for two weeks before he relapsed and flushed his life back down the toilet. And so it goes.   I support the legalization of all drugs, but it surprises people to learn that I have never used them myself. Except for Budweiser and Jim Beam, I have never used an illegal drug in my life. That includes marijuana, a drug I consider far more benign...

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The Ethics of Dogging It in Little League

UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh picks up on the Ethics Scoreboard's problem concerning a curious event at last month's Little League World Series. Here's the scenario:On August 11 in Bristol, Conn., a Little League team from Colchester, Vt., only had to retire its Portsmouth, N.H. opposition in the top of the sixth inning (Little League games are six innings rather than...

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