By Devin Tarwater
Last month, the new Sports Law and Business program at Arizona State University hosted its first annual conference on sports law and business at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The program is a joint effort between the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law and W.P. Carey School of Business. The program started in the fall of 2014 under the guidance of program director Rodney Smith and associate director Michael Mokwa, professors at the law school and the business school, respectively.
The conference was entitled: “The Sports Industry in 2025: Regulatory, Revenue and Reputational Issues in the Future of Intercollegiate and Professional Athletics”. The conference sparked discussion on the major issues in the sports industry today, what can be done to resolve those issues, and where the sports industry will stand on those issues in the near future. Since the issues in intercollegiate sports often differ from the issues in professional sports, the conference dedicated one day for a discussion on intercollegiate sports and one day for a discussion on professional sports.
Day two of the Conference concentrated on professional sports. It showcased several panels composed of prominent professionals in the sports law and business industry. Among these professionals were:
Tony Dungy, Sports Analyst with NBC & Former Football Coach with the NFL;
Dave Checketts, CEO at Legends Corporate & formerly CEO at Madison Square Garden;
Anthony LeBlance, CEO & co-Owner of the Arizona Coyotes;
Craig Tindall, General Counsel of the Arizona Coyotes;
Nona Lee, Executive Senior VP & General Counsel, Arizona Diamondbacks;
Melissa Goldenberg, General Counsel, Phoenix Suns;
Kenneth Shropshire, Director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative;
Don Gibson, CEO of Brandtheon & formerly with MLB Properties;
Jack Green, Former Senior VP and General Counsel of Converse Inc.
The first panel of day two featured Goldenberg, Lee, and Tindall. They discussed the common legal issues that arise with professional sports franchises, including contract negotiations, player social media use, security, and liability. Goldenberg expressed that those who want to practice sports law need to become familiar with and practice in many different areas of the law. She explained that a law firm is the place to experience diversity at exponential amounts. Her advice to those in the legal field was to ‘learn your craft’ because as you do so people will gravitate to you and will want to do business with you; it all starts with building great relationships.
Goldenberg, Lee, and Tindall discussed liability problems that can arise from slip and fall incidents, t-shirt guns, and dram shop liability. To protect themselves from liability in such cases, teams protect themselves in a variety of ways. For example, there is a fine print waiver on the back of game tickets that each fan consents to by virtue of using the ticket. Goldenberg explained that instead of tossing out free pizza to its fans during games, the Suns toss out lighter pizza boxes with a voucher for free pizza inside instead of heavier pizza boxes with pizza actually inside. Lee told about the recent Kansas City Royals lawsuit that resulted from a fan being hit in the eye by a free hot dog that was thrown into the crowd by the Kansas City Royals.
The panel expressed that these are things you have to think about in advance.
Arizona State University’s Athletic Director, Ray Anderson, introduced the keynote speaker for day two, Tony Dungy. Dungy talked about the importance of integrity in the game of football, keeping the interests of fans, and gender diversity. Dungy stressed that integrity of the game is of utmost importance. He stated that he believes integrity is essential to retain the public’s trust. When he was an NFL coach he would remind his players that they have a lot of influence, especially on the younger generations. He told them that kids are always watching them and learning from them. If they see players misbehaving, they are more likely to misbehave thinking that it is ok to do so. Dungy believes that college coaches and scouts need to talk to players about qualities that are important, including integrity, that would help youth understand that success in life is measured by more than just performing well on the field.
Dungy also explained that if the integrity of the game suffers, football loses the public’s trust. If public trust is lost, fan interest falls. Dungy stated that another way to buoy fan interest is to give them the best treatment possible, keeping tickets affordable for the average fan and maintaining younger generations’ involvement in playing actual sports instead of playing sports via video games.
On the topic of gender diversity, Dungy mentioned that while he was growing up, the issue was racial diversity in sports, but now there are several gender-related issues. Dungy asked the audience to tell him who the 2011 MVP was. Everyone named the top male athletes in professional sports, and no one mentioned a female athlete. The answer Dungy was looking for was Tamika Catchings, the 2011 WNBA MVP. Dungy expressed that he hopes for an increase of women in sports, both in the game and in the front office. He stated: “I think a female head coach is a long way off for the NFL, but I do think teams will begin to use female staff and possibly assistant coaches. The NBA is beginning to do that and I could see that happening in the NFL.”
For more on the university’s Sports Law and Business Program and plans to host similar conferences in the future, visit the following Website (https://www.law.asu.edu/admissions/Admissions/CustomizedPrograms/SportsLawandBusiness.aspx).
