Sports Litigation Alert Current Issue

By Ellen J. Staurowsky, Ed.D., Senior Contributor and Professor, Sports Media, Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College, staurows@ithaca.edu Three months ago, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division...

A federal judge from the Middle District of Tennessee has granted the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County’s motion for summary judgment in a case in which these parties were sued by two men, Jeremy Peters and Kenneth Winslow, who claim they were...

A federal judge from the District of Massachusetts has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the former basketball coach at the University of Evansville in Indiana (UE), who alleged that the university, one of its employees (Jane Doe), and the employee’s attorney defamed him...

Court of Claims approved a $275,000 settlement for a boxer's death. In December 2015, a 19-year-old boxer died from head injuries he suffered in his professional debut in Youngstown, Ohio. His family filed a $25 million lawsuit against the Ohio Athletic...

A federal judge from the Northern District of Oklahoma has denied a plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a case where an amateur soccer club based in Tulsa sought legal intervention that would have allowed it to play at its chosen venue. In so ruling,...

By Jeff Birren, Senior Writer For over a decade college athletes have been pursuing claims against the NCAA and its members for usurping their Name, Image and Likeness rights (“NIL”). Those defendants have repeatedly met judicial defeat. One early case was O’Bannon v....

By Joseph M. Ricco IV Just hours before the 2024-25 college football season kicked off, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) blocked Oklahoma State University’s plan to place QR codes on the back of their football players’ helmets. Oklahoma State had...

By Christopher R. Deubert, Senior Writer The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), as the union for NFL players, is responsible for negotiating the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment between NFL players and NFL clubs. The results of...

By Austin Spears Over a three-week span in August of this year at least six teenage football players died, with the oldest being only 16-years-old. Four of these athletes died from heat-related causes, while the other two deaths resulted from head trauma. Any death in...

By Ed Tomasi The esports industry has rapidly evolved from a niche interest into a global phenomenon, with millions of fans and substantial economic impacts for host destinations.  In 2021, global esports revenues are expected to hit $1.8 billion by 2024. The...

Santa Clara University President Julie Sullivan hasannounced the appointment of Heather M. Owen J.D. '03, Stanford University deputy athletics director/SWA (Senior Woman Administrator) as the next Broncos director of athletics. Owen, who earned a J.D....

Featured below is an interview with Texas Tech University Assistant Professor Katie Brown, PhD, a member of the Sports and Recreation Law Association. Dr. Brown, a member in the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, received her Bachelor’s in...

The National Sports Law Institute of Marquette University Law School has announced that its annual fall conference, "Perspectives on 35 Years of Sports Law," will he held on October 18, 2024.  Foley & Lardner LLP and its Sports &...

Cozen O’Connor, one of the largest and fastest-growing law firms in North America, announced last month that it has begun sponsoring LPGA golfer Ally Ewing. Ewing, who has three prestigious tour victories to her name, is currently the only LPGA golfer that is...

Despite women making up 46% of the world's 3 billion video game players, those who turn professional are likely to be bullied or sexually harassed. It’s one of the fastest growing industries globally, raking in millions for the best players and attracting a huge...

The Big Ten Conference has named Phillip Zeeck assistant general counsel. Zeeck will manage various functions within the Conference’s legal department, including contracts, policy development, legal analysis, intellectual property, and outside counsel coordination. A...

The University of Iowa has opened registration for the 3rd annual National College Athletics Infractions Hearing Competition. The competition, which is fully online, is set for February 21-22, 2025. It is open to all law students and graduate students from non-law...

Steve Smith, Managing Partner of BCLP’s Colorado Springs Office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Sports and Entertainment Practice Group, has been appointed co-chair of the Media Law Resource Center’s (MLRC) newly created Sports Committee. The MLRC is a New York-based...

LEAD1 Association (LEAD1), which represents the athletics directors of the 134 member schools of the Football Bowl Subdivision (“FBS”), has announced it will be renamed FBS Athletics Directors Association. The Association also announced that former LEAD1 Board of...

Pierson Ferdinand LLP (PierFerd) has announced the appointment of sports lawyer Sekou Campbell as a Partner in its Global Media, Entertainment, and Sports Practice. Campbell brings extensive experience in representing intellectual creatives – particularly those...