Sports Law

Perks

"Perks" that are directly related to coaching will go away with the termination of the coaching K. Perks that are owed because of a relationship with the university as its employee will remain.

i. Injury to Spectators (Edward C. City of Albuquerque; Lowe v. California League of Professional Baseball)

(Edward C. City of Albuquerque; Lowe v. California League of Professional Baseball)

Defining the Scope of Judicial Review

(Kansas City Royals v. Major League Baseball Players Assn.; Major League Baseball Players Assn. v. Garvey)

viii. Equal Benefits and Treatment (McCormick v. School District of Mamaroneck; Daniels I; Daniels II)

(McCormick v. School District of Mamaroneck; Daniels I; Daniels II)

Criminal Liability

(People v. Schacker, Regina v. McSorley; People v. Hall

7. Symmetrical v. Categorical Rule

(invitees, licensees, trespassers)

f. Gender inequality

(must be substantially related to a governmental interest)

iii. Players Associations (Brown v. Woolf; NFLPA Regulations Governing Contract Advisors)

1. An agent must register with the players union in order to represent a member. 2. Collins: was certified by the players association, but during a lawsuit, he voluntarily suspended his certification. During this time, the players association decertified him a. Players association looks at the broad spectrum and has the authority to decertify an agent. It has a wide scope and range of review to certify or decertify an agent. 3. Brown: Player was contracted to play hockey. Team went belly up and he was only paid a fraction of his K. The agent, however, was paid in full. a. The issue arises from an agent being paid up front. b. General Rule: receive the fee at the time the compensation is made to the player. 4. NFLPA Regulations: if an agent is certified, it does not mean the certification is an endorsement or recommendation by the NFLPA. a. Cannot fail to advise the player and to report to the NFLPA any known violations by an NFL club of a players individual contract. The agent must notify the player and the NFLPA b. Agent has responsibilities to the player as well as the association c. Agent is prohibited from receiving any fees until the player gets paid. i. However, a player may deem upfront payment is more beneficial. Max fee is 3% of K

Trademark Infringement

1. As name of Sports Team or Event (Indianapolis Colts, Inc. v. Metropolitan Baltimore Football Club Limited Partnership) a. Trademarks protects goods and services in commerce

Injury to Athletes

1. Co-Participant Liability a. Tort Liability (Hackbart I; Hackbart II; Shin v. Ahn; New Orleans Saints Bounty System)

Right of Privacy 4 types of actions

1. Commercial Appropriation 2. Public Disclosure of Embarassing Facts 3. False Light 4. Intrusion into Seclusion

v. Mercer: girl was a kicker that made the football team at Duke. She was told by coach that she made the time and was listed on the official roster. However, she was not allowed to suit up or attend team meetings

1. Court: While Title IX does not require someone to try out for a contact sport and they make the team, then you must treat the female players the same as the male players.

Judicial Regulation of Interscholastic Athletics

1. Courts will not interfere with the internal affairs of an organization if it provides its own rules for regulation and due process 2. Courts will only intervene if the plaintiff has exhausted all legal remedies within the organization.

Reasons for Nullification of NLI

1. Denial of Admissions 2. If you are not eligible per NCAA rules 3. One year academic absence, provided request for financial aid is denied by the University. 4. Military Service 5. Discontinued Sport 6. Recruiting rules violation.

v. Organizing Committee for the Host Country:

1. Establishes venue, schedules, and so on within a host country.

iii. Hall: experienced skier travelling excessively fast, out of control, strikes and kills another skier.

1. Exceeded what reasonable people would do (mental element) 2. Crimes: mental element & action 3. Mental element has to have some kind of intent to it 4. Hall's experience would have lead a reasonable person to infer his conduct created a substantial and unjustifiable risk. 5. Hall consciously disregarded the risk he created by acting despite awareness of risk.

NCAA Regulatory Authority and Legal Limits Thereon.

1. Federal Constitutional Law 2. NCAA Enforcement Process

Arbitration Example of Evidence not admissible

1. Financial position of player or team 2. Press comments of player or team, however player awards may be admissible 3. Non-baseball salaries are inadmissible 4. Offers made by the party before the year

v. Ambush Marketing

1. Getting unexpected benefits from advertising or having an appearance in an event that is sponsored by a competitor. a. Is legal unless it rises to the level of causing a likelihood of confusion among the consumers

iv. NGB's (National Governing Bodies):

1. Governance for each particular sport within a country. These will be recognized by the USOC as the national governing body for each particular sport. (Ex: United States Swimming)

Hysaw

1. Hyshaw was removed from team for numerous rules violations. Hyshaw sued claiming the university breached its contractual right to play, thus denying him due process. 2. Court took Jackson Approach and said there is NO property or libert interest in playing sports, therefore not due process claim.

Public Performance: three ways it becomes public thus subject to CR:

1. If it takes place in a place open to the public 2. Where there are significant number of people gathered at any place 3. Means of transmission: where the D receives the performance and transmits it to another location.

NCAA Enforcement Process

1. Institutions and Infractions Process 2. Coaches and Other Internal Institutional Personnel and Infractions Process

ii. Regina: Canadian court found NHL player guilty of assault with a weapon for striking another player in the head with a stick.

1. Intent to inflict injury outside of game play a. Unnecessary under game play 2. Very fact intensive

Institution and Infractions Process

1. Investigation 2. Charging 3. Hearings 4. Penalties 5. Appeals

League Commissioner "Best Interests" Power (Charles O. Finley & Co., Inc. v. Kuhn; Oakland Raiders v. National Football League)

1. Kuhn: as long as the commissioner acts without the evidence or fraud or collusion, courts do not have a standard on which to overturn a commissioner's decision. 2. Commissioner must have valid authority of law to take actions or the court will intervene. 3. Oakland Raiders: Al Davis alleged that the commissioner has a fiduciary responsibility to each member team.

MLB's Antitrust Immunity and Other Exceptions (Flood v. Kuhn)

1. Kuhn: stare decisis determines the course here. Because Congress did not act to correct the reserve systems conflicts with antitrust law, then the reserve system was not a violation. 2. Curt Flood Act of 1998: Provided the MLB players can sue to antitrust violations. Applies to professional unionized MLB players directly related to or affecting employment of MLB players to play baseball at the major league level. a. Does not apply to minor league players, amateur players, or first year draft picks. b. Players cannot sue for terms that are part of the CBA

Unfair Labor Practices

1. League Interference with Players' Rights to Unionize 2. League Refusal to Recognize Players Union as Exclusive Bargaining Representative 3. Retaliation Against Union Activists 4. Breach of Duty to Bargain in Good Faith and to Provide Relevant Information Concerning Mandatory Subjects of Collective Bargaining

The Principal "Players" in the Professional Sports Industries

1. Leagues: Organizes gameplay, main rule maker. 2. Clubs or Teams: make up the league and is comprised of team owners who also have power to shape the direction the leagues pursue 3. Commissioners: Has power to act in the "best interest" of the sport. It is subjectively based and very broad. 4. Players: they play, employees of the league 5. Players Associations: typically certified labor unions. Major player in the determination of wages, pension, and many other aspects of a CBA. a. Player's associations bargain for the minimum salary in a sport and individual salaries are negotiated by agents. 6. Agents: deal with salary, but also many other things including: insurance, disability, secretarial duties. Mostly regulated by the players associations 7. Other Industries Integral to Modern Professional Sports (Media?)

Which parties determine the APR policy?

1. NCAA 2. Conferences 3. Institution (Most Discretion).

iii. NOC's (National Olympic Committees):

1. Nation governing authority for Olympic sports. 2. USOC (United States Olympic Committee): gets to decide on a nationwide basis who attends the Olympics and also sets the standards for the teams.

Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act

1. Olympic Marks a. Mark is significantly more protectable than other marks. USOC owns the mark within the U.S. All an aggrieved party must do is prove that someone is using the Olympics mark without permission within a commercial context. No proof of confusion is required.

Professional Team Sports Drug Testing Programs

1. Performance Enhancing Drug (Steriods) 2. Recreational Drugs (narcotics) a. Personal liberty issues while drug testing

i. Shacker: Play was over, but D struck P on back of neck, who then hit his head on the cross bar and suffered a concussion

1. Players are legally deemed to have accepted personal responsibility for risks inherent in nature of sport. This includes intentional acts which result in personal injury. 2. Assumption of Risk sort of discussion

Right of Publicity (Newcombe v. Adolf Coors Co.; ETW v. Jireh Publishing, Inc.; C.B.C. Distribution & Marketing, Inc. v. MLBAM)

1. Post-Mortem 2. TM Law 3. Newcombe 4. ETW and CBC

DeFrantz

1. Powers granted to the USOC under the Amateur Sports Act, which recognizes the USOC as the NOC for the United States 2. not a right to compete in the Olympics and the USOC has the authority to determine whether the United States participates in the Olympics because the ASA does not restrict the USOC in that area. 3. USOC is not a state actor therefore DeFrantz's constitutional rights were not abridged. i. Typically, NGB's are not state actors either ii. Athletes have NO express right or private right of action under the ASA and do not recognize claims against the USOC or NGB's seeking injunctive relief or judicial orders regarding eligibility to compete.

ii. IF's (International Sports Federations):

1. Responsible for determining the general responsibility of eligibility nation by nation. 2. Worldwide governing body for a particular sport or group of sports and encompasses the NGB's that serve as affiliates for the subject sports in each country.

Collective Bargaining in the Professional Sports Industries

1. Salary Caps and Competitive Balance Taxes (Luxury Tax) 2. Key Provisions of the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL CBA's as of January 2013 a. NBA: "soft cap" which means it isn't hard to circumvent b. NFL: "hard cap" which means its without exemptions. c. MLB: Competitive Balance Tax: which means that a team with a high aggregate salary level must pay teams below a certain amount. d. NHL: Salary cap, but its worthless. More soft than NBA 3. Uniform Player Contracts (NBA Uniform Player Contract): regulates off-court conduct as much as on-court conduct

Legal Framework for Resolving Domestic Athlete Eligibility Disputes

1. Slaney v. International 2. Amateur Athletic Association 3. Lindland v. U.S. 4. Wrestling Association, Inc.)

Sexual Harassment, Coaching

1. The harassment has to be "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by school" 2. Has to be tied to educational experience. If not, then it is considered a common type of sexual harassment claim.

Athlete Eligibility Issues

1. Transfer Rules 2. Outside Competition Rules 3. Age Rules 4. Academic Eligibility Requirements 5. Home Schooled Students 6. Good Conduct

ii. State Regulation: The UAAA (Uniform Athlete Agents Act) (UAAA 2000)

1. UAAA: 41 states have adopted this UAAA a. Purpose is to regulate interests of student-athletes and academic institutions by regulating the activities of sports agents. b. Agent K: a team player K as well as endorsement deals c. Student-Athlete: engages in, is eligible to engage in, or in the future is eligible to engage in any intercollegiate sport d. In order to be athlete-agent, you must with register with the Secretary of State's office. Has reciprocity agreement e. Must have a prominent warning to student athlete.

i. IOC (International Olympic Committee):

1. governing body and supreme authority. 2. Made up of former athletes and competitors as well as representatives from member institutions. Elected by secret ballot.

Basic Duties of Agents

1. legal duties, financial management and so on. 2.College kids leaving school are financially illiterate a. College kids are like compulsive gamblers 3. Fiduciary duty to the athlete. The principal always makes the decisions Agent can only recommend and negotiate on behalf of the principal 4. Ricky Williams: agent came under fire for signing a shitty deal. Agent said to decline the offer, Williams said to sign. The athlete always makes the decision.`

Title IX requirements

1. program wide rather than a sport specific judicial inquiry 2. Weighing the safety factor, physical strength factor, is an appropriate governmental interest 3. athletic opportunities for men and women that are real opportunities and not illusory ones. Must truly be an opportunity for women to participate in sports (equity) 4.DOES NOT require same number of men's sports as women's sports (Ex: football and football team equity) 5. Title IX does not require members or the opposite sex be permitted to try out for unisex contact sport. Its focus is on the ability to provide equitable opportunities

Exceptions to claims against USOC or NGB seeking injunctie relife or judicial orders regarding eligibility to compete.

1.race, 2.religion, 3.age, 4.national origin, 5.gender

When did Congress pass the Trademark Dilution Act

2006

Main Point of Slaney

4. Main Point: athletes wanting to compete for the United States must submit to arbitration and no state law will help her. a. Courts are to make sure these organizations follow rules, but are cautioned from getting involved in the internal matters of the organization

Owners and necessary medical attention

6. If an injury occurs, an owner of a stadium may be liable not to provide necessary medical attention that a reasonable person would take.

Third Prong of Title IX

: OCR issued a social science survery that will be employed in order to show compliance under the third prong. i. At what point are clubs or intramural sports interests translate to a varsity level sport? Debatable

What is required for a due process claim?

A property or liberty interest that is at stake.

What type of approach do Courts take to analyze league agreements.

A rule of reason approach. If they favor the fan, there will not be a violation.

NCAA Academic Reform Legislation is known as what?

Academic Progress Rate (APR) NCAA Bylaw Art. 14.

Brooklyn Dodgers: once a mark has been abandoned, then it is free to be used.

After this case was settled, MLB teams continued to manufacture old team logos so that the trademark would continue in commerce and not be abandoned

Agents are not attorney's often faces the question of are you engaging in the unauthorized practice of law?

Agents who are attorney's my engage in primary agency services without the fear of running against ethical violations

What have been instituted in some states for financial help for students?

Alumni and scholarship funds. California has implemented a student athletes Bill of Rights to provide financial help for athletes receiving career ending injuries.

What does "termination for Cause" mean in a contract?

Anything bad. Also doing badly during the season may constitute cause

Conflict of Interest, Detroit Lion

Argovitz negotiated deal with Lions and a AFL team that he was part owner of. Court ruled that the agent owes a fiduciary duty to the principal and that duty consists of Loyalty, good faith, and fair and honest dealing.

Generic

Aspirin, cellophane, Band-Aid

financial fraud and represents a breach of fiduciary duty between the agent and principal

Athletes are particularly susceptible to financial fraud by agents because they are financially illiterate.

Trademark Dilution Purpose

Came about to prevent the lessening of distinction in trademarks.

Private Organizations and Drug Testing

Can get away with comprehensive drug testing of its employees because it is a private organization and you are free to join or not to join that organization a. Courts are reluctant to second guess private orgs.

NFL Drug Policy

Cannot change via commissioner. Drug penalty

Contractual Problems with the NLI

Cases. 1. Taylor 2. Ross 3. Hendricks

vii. Equal Athletic Participation Opportunities

Civil Rights Act of 1987 (overruled Grove): made title IX applicable to all college or universities that receive any kind of federal benefits to the institutions students.

What Constitutes Compensation for coaches?

Coach's main form of payment usually comes from additional incentives, bonuses, television, radio... Rodgers

Competition for Clients

Conflicts between Agents

Must show what for infringement

Confusion from fans or people.

Public Required Disclosure (Coaches Contract)

Contracts are a matter of public record. If they do not disclose, you can file a FIA Request

d. Injury Compensation for Professional Athletes

Contractual duty between the parties

Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy:

Courts have held that "anti" sites, like dallascowboyssuck.com is not a trademark infringement. UDRP would not be successful

Main point of Taylor

Courts take a very limited view in possibly expanding the terms of the K. Most employ 4 corners doctrine.

Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999

Cybersquatters sat around and buy up domain names such as mcdonalds.com and they would hold them for ransom. This act attempts to undo that.

Burden of proof for showing a history of expansion

D's have the burden of showing a history of expansion

State Laws on privacy, reputation, and publicity rights

Defamation Right of Privacy Right of Publicity

Liquidated Damages Clause

Dinardo: left Vandy to coach at LSU. K stipulated that if he left, he would owe the university liquidated damages.

First and Fourth Amendment Constitutional RIghts Issues

Drug Testing

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Duty of loyalty requires that the agent not have a personal stake which conflicts with the principals. i. If you do have a possible COI, disclose to principal

APR

Established to monitor each student athletes progress toward completion of degree.

Agent Ethical Issues

Ethics Opinion; ISBA Advisory Opinion on Professional Conduct)

4. Penalties.

Every investigation is fact sensitive. 1. Level 1: Severe Breach 2. Level 2: Significant Breach. 3. Level 3: Breach of Conduct (not bad, but something above incidental. 4. Incidental Breach (aggregation of these may constitute a level 3 breach. )

Composition of ADR for Semester.

Fall: 1 point for sufficient grades, 1 point for retention. Spring: Same rules. Each student athlete can earn a total of 4 points.

T/F Player have a right to play and is included included in contract?

False

T/F Courts will not imply or read into K's oral promise.

False Unless explicitly stated.

T/F ASA does not preempt state law action.

False.

Agents conflicts of Interest

Fundamental obligations an agent owes is not to compromise the interests of his or her principal. This requirement is derived from the duties of undivided loyalty and good faith.

Marks

Generic Descriptive Suggestive Mark Arbitrary Fanciful

Constitutionally Protected Property or Liberty Interests.

Hysaw v. Washburn University of Topeka

Trademark abandonment

If it is truly abandoned and there is no likelihood of confusion, anyone could pick it up.

2. Charging

If the institution agrees with the findings of the investigation, then they proceed to summary disposition. If they do not, the NCAA has to send a notification of allegations and the university may request a hearing in form of the COI (Committee on Infractions).

2. Duty to maintain premises

If you fail to exercise reasonable care in crowd control, this could bring some liability.

Post-mortem

In TX it is 50 years following the death of a celebrity.

Fiduciary Duty of Commissioner

Inherent duty of commissioner is adjudicated disputes between member clubs. Both clubs cannot win, therefore no fiduciary duty to the individual clubs from the league or commissioner. a. Fiduciary duties arise in mostly financial settings. Here, although there was league revenue sharing, there was no joint share of league profits or losses.

Slaney

Initially found not guilty of doping by the USATF and the IAAF invoked arbitration. Because of the doping charges, she was held ineligible to participate in the Olympics Main question was does she have any state law claims not preempted by the ASA? Court found that when Congress passed the ASA, it provided for rules regarding dispute resolution. They provided some measure of due process and were therefore preempted. ASA gives exclusive authority to the USOC over all matters of U.S. participation

What was the factual history of Waldrep?

Injured while playing, became a quadriplegic. Family trying to recover medical bills. Family claims he accepted financial aid package that was "pay to play," this made him an employee of institution.

Who is in charge of all sports and decisions regarding those sports?

Institution

****Coaches' Contracts and Related Issues

Is There a Property Interest in a Coaching Position? (Kish v. Iowa Central Community College)

Leach v. Texas

Leach claimed to have been fired before a bonus was due him. University claimed its immune to suit under sovereign immunity (SI) SI became a huge issue in this case.

Termination and Breach

Leach v. Texas Tech University

Do Leagues step into into the internal matters of an organization unless the organization is not following its own rules.

Leagues are a lot like the NCAA and are reluctant to

Composition of APR

Maximum of 1,000 points possible. Must have 930 points (93%) to participate in post season sports. Failure results in loss of scholarships and recruiting restrictions.

Recruiting Ban After Signing an NLI

May not contact of be contacted by another school.

5. Appeals.

Member institutions may appeal to the Infractions Appeals Committee which is comprised of a separate body of membership and outside individuals.

Misappropriation of Real-Time Game Accounts and Scores

Morris Communications Corp. v. PGA Tour, Inc.

Federal Constitutional Law

NCAA is not a state actor because it is a private association which you are free to join or not join.

3. Hearings

NCAA is represented by enforcement staff of the NCAA: i. The investigator ii. His directors iii. VP of enforcement. Institution is represented by counsel, administrators and so on.

Alabama PIACR

NCAA rules govern the contacts of the boosters. i. Standard of Review is not unlike judicial review in that they will only set aside a COI ruling if the showing of information clearly outweighs the information the COI based its ruling on. Very high standard. ii. University has to be responsible for the actions of its employees iii. If a university does not cooperate with an investigation, it creates more trouble for itself. Cooperation may be a mitigating factor for penalties

Do the majority of jurisdictions recognize the tort of educational malpractice (Ross)

NO

Affixation of Sports-Related Mark to Merchandise

National Football League Properties, Inc. v. New Jersey Giants, Inc.

Contractual Aspects (Taylor v. Wake Forest University, Ross v. Creighton Uni, NCAA Bylaw Art. 15: Financial Aid.

National Letter of Intent. Contractual Problems with the NLI

Does the 11th amendment bar private suits against state or state officials under Title IX?

No.

Waldrep Court holding

Not employment agreement. Student receives money for academic aspect, not athletic.

Which Student athletes are analyzed for the ADR?

ONLY students that are on scholarship.

OCR

Office of Civil Rights

Antitrust Law

Output Market (NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma) 1. Sherman Anti-trust act in early 1900's a. Provided for price competition for the ultimate benefit of the consumer (outlawed monopolies. Ex: standard oil) b. Violations: i. Per Se: where you have a true overt antitrust violation ii. Rule of Reason: Courts look at the totality of the circumstances and whether the efforts of the monopolists will result in more competition rather than less. Most used. 2. Oklahoma: TV sharing package mandated a set number of times a team could appear on TV. Court found under rule of reason that this was an unreasonable restraint of trade. This ruling gave rise to the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) a. Recruiting rules are not an unreasonable restraint of trade because they allow teams to compete on a more equitable basis.

Nature and Scope of Copy Right Law Protection (INS. v. Associated Press, Inc.; NBA v. Motorola, Inc.; NFL v. TVRadioNow Corp.)

Protects expression. Attaches to things like broadcasts, sports columnists

PIACR

Public Infractions Appeal Committee

Sovereign Immunity

Public schools are immune

Lanham Act

Right of publicity in being related to a player's identity that is related to something in commerce that is making money that features the identify of that figure.

Rodgers

Rodgers removed as head coach at Georgia Tech. Main question was which compensation would continue under the K and which would not?

How Title IX prongs work

Second and third prong sort of go together and all three look at the totality of the circumstances.

Nature and Purposes of Antitrust Law

Sherman Antitrust Act: made monopolies illegal

Commercial Appropriation

Someone has appropriated your likeness or identity.

WNBA Drug Policy

Steroid Rehabilitation Program

Penalty for breach of NLI

Student athlete must sit out a year at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of all participation in all sports. However, you may practice and receive athletic scholarships during your residence penalty.

Ross

Student claims breach of contract and negligence for failure of the university to educate him. He also brought a claim of educational malpractice.

Usual holding for students as athletes

Students are not employees. State legislatures have amended workers comp legislation to exclude student athletes.

Taylor

Students scholarship was suspended after poor academic performance, he eventually got his grades back up but decided not to play football. Suing for tuition and fees. Holding: University was in full compliance and Student violated the NLI. **** Court did not imply any oral terms into the K.

Who is the burden on for informing other schools of NLI?

The Student.

Will liquidated damaged be upheld if they are deemed to be reasonable?

The court gives weight to the fact that the two parties had a contract and they both agreed to execute the contract.

Who does the Student sign the NLI for?

The institution. Not the Coach.

What is the K is ambiguous or has ambiguous terms for compensation?

The interpretation which is least favorable to the author should generally be accepted.

What do courts focus on for contractual disputes? (Ross)

The relationship of the University with the Student athlete. Court cannot impose duties into a K that would impose further conditions on the universities to educate students.

Standard of Title IX Test

The test is comprised of independent prongs of which the satisfaction of only one of them will put an institution in compliance with title IX.

Hendricks

There is NO special relationship between the university and the students and the university does not owe them a duty. No one is required to go to college.

Duty of Trademark owners.

Trademark owners must police there marks. They must be on the lookout for other people using the trademarks. a. Another way a P might lose his TM is by licensing the name out.

Trademark perpetuity

Trademarks can be perpetual as long as they continue to identify a service in commerce.

T/F State law breach of K claims against the NGB are not preempted by the ASA.

True

T/F Universities significantly limit the amount of miscellaneous expenses for students?

True

t/f c. Labor arbitration is a league-wide system for dealing with specific disputes unable to be resolved by individual negotiations between a team and player.

True

Coaches and Other Internal Institutional Personnel and Infractions Process (NCAA Regulations 10-11)

Twin Cities: Coach must attend NCAA hearings and may have counsel present.

Tortious interference with a contract

Typically not upheld unless there is a clause in a coaching contract say he will not entertain other offers.

Regulation of Olympic Sports Within the United States

U.S. Olympic Committee (DeFrantz case).

Legal Duty of Care, High schools

Unless there is reckless or intentionally conduct, only then will educational institutions will be liable for players

Student Athletes as Employees; Workers compensation.

Waldrep v. Texas.

When will courts intervenes on a private institution?

When a rule is inequitable or arbitrary and capricious

Standard for determining mark strength

Where there is a strong mark, such as the Colts mark, you judge the strength of the mark and the reality of its position in determining likelihood of confusion.

Labor Arbitration

Wide Impact Arbitration

Kish

Women's basketball coach was removed as head coach and claimed to be removed from his duties as an employee of the university. Did he possess a property right to continued employment thus being entitled to due process?

Fact that the K is fair does not affect the principals right to rescind if negotiated when it violates the prohibition against self-dealing

Would render K voidable at the election of the prin

Can States waive SI?

Yes The waiver must be clear and unequivocal.

First Amendment And Recruiting

a. A coach has numerous avenues to communicate with potential student athletes that are legal. First amendment rights are NOT absolute. b. Due Process: even if due process error was held, it was harmless because no first amendment violation

Standing & Mootness Title IX

a. A plaintiff only has standing to assert claims to remedy specific harm that arises out of his or her current or future participation in the school's athletic programs. (must show individualized harm) b. Mootness: capable of repetition yet evading review excep.

Imminent & Irreparable Harm

a. A player is automatically unique because of his player contracts. Nowadays, do not have to prove anything, it is automatic. They will be harmed.

Defamation

a. A statement that is both false and hurtful to the person's reputation. Also statements that are true, but give a false impression b. First amendment does protect comments where there are statements of true opinion.

Drug Testing

a. Acton was a student who refused to sign a drug test participation form. He was then not allowed to play sports. b. Scalia: random, suspicion-less drug testing of student athletes is not prohibited by the constitution. He employed the doctrine of In Loco Parentis which stands for "stand in place of parent." This is how schools can enforce random, suspicion-less drug testing. c. Must have a basis for instituting a drug testing program!! i. Tannehill (Lockney) case: student body wide drug testing program held unconstitutional because there was not a basis of fact for a drug problem and everyone was subject to the policy. d. U.S. Supreme Court has upheld random, suspicion-less drug testing of all extracurricular activities. Remember they are voluntary so you subject yourself to their rules!

Damages for breach of coaches K.

a. Actual loss sustained by breach. Only received the net damages b. Damages have to be directly related to the breach c. Damages have to be able to be calculated. (You cannot claim that your reputation has been damaged under a breach of K claim) d. Damages must be such as the parties contemplated them to be upon breach

Salary Arbitration

a. Applies to free agents b. Non-free agents who are still in the initial 6 years of K and has played for at least 3 years i. "Super Two's:" players that have played for two seasons but not 3 are truly the super players

Registration Process

a. As you launch a product, you can register the product once it enters the stream of commerce b. ITU (Intent to Use): reserves the name for 6 months and are entitled to a further extension of 6 months. After that you may file a special exemption for another 6 months c. Rebuttable presumption that the mark is valid and the challenger must rebut that. d. Immoral or Scandalous Marks: i. Boston SexRod e. Religious, Racial: i. Redskins Mark: legal issue was not stopping the use of the name, but cancelling the registration. 1. Mark owner must demonstrate the validity of the mark. 2. Laches: notion that the P has slept on their rights and didn't bring action years ago

McBee & Bruno's: NFL had blackout rule that broadcasters cannot broadcast games in the local area unless the game is a sellout within a certain number of hours before a broadcast

a. Bar owners bought satellite service and streamed the game. This was before encryption. b. NFL brought suit. c. Court held that 2 bars were "publically" broadcasting the game. However it ruled one bar did not. That bar had 5 people watching the game and therefore it was a private performance.

National Letter of Intent

a. Binding agreement between the student athlete and the university for the student athlete to attend the university for one academic year and the university agrees to provide financial aid for one academic year (this has changed to allow for more than one academic year for fin. aid)

Defining the Student-Athlete and University Relationship

a. Contractual Aspects. b. NCAA Academic Reform Legislation c. Constitutionally Protected or Liberty Interests d. Student Athletes as Employees

INS: Ins was competitor of AP and AP alleged that INS would take the stories of AP and beat it to the west coast. AP alleged copyright infringement

a. Copyright protects the basic principle of expression, but not the underlying fact b. Property interest in "hot news:" someone who has invest time and effort in the reporting and dissemination of the news as long as it is "hot" Work product does have a protectable interest.

5. Lowe: spectator was distracted by mascot and was struck in the face by a foul ball

a. Court held that the land owner had increased the risk by introducing the mascot and distracting the spectators. The mascot was not an integral part of the game.

NBA: pagers would display sports updates much like push notifications do today. NBA brought action claiming sports updates were copyright infringement.

a. Court held that the subject matter of the game it fact and not authored by anyone else and can be reported by anyone including Motorola through its pager system. b. Who authors a sporting event? i. Courts have not recognized any authorship of the game itself. But any broadcast of the game itself has authorship. ii. It is arranged by K who owns the copyright

Cohen: Was Brown in compliance with any of the prongs of the title IX test?

a. Court said you failed the first prong and there was not adequate proof for the other two prongs. b. Court said that there is a lot of ways for the school to comply with title IX which included: elimination of the athletic program, create new women's programs, eliminate men's programs... c. However, the court is reluctant to dictate which remedy is best. The university is in the best position to listen to the students, alumni, and knows its financial situation. A court will review plans being made to remedy the situation and approve or disapprove of them despite much effort invested be the institution.

2. Colts: CFL team claimed that the colts abandoned there mark when they left and now it's open.

a. Court takes a social scientific approach and says its wants to have a survey b. Showing likelihood of confusion: i. Generic > Descriptive > Suggestive > Fanciful & Arbitrary ii. Identify distinctively in the mind of the consumer what the product is

3. Duration and Scope of the Injunction (Lewis v. Rahman) Contracts

a. Covenant not to compete factors (reasonable to both sides): i. Reasonable length 1. Income 2. Professional players typically have a short shelf life ii. Reasonable in terms of geography iii. Reasonable in terms of what to do and what not to do iv. Reasonable to the germane terms of the K b. Courts typically do not blue pencil or edit K's. c. Courts typically do not enforce Non-competes for longer than a year.

***Regulating Intercollegiate Athletics

a. Defining the Student-Athlete and University Relationship b. NCAA Regulatory Authority and Legal Limits Thereon c. Antitrust Law

1. League Interference with Players' Rights to Unionize

a. Employers are supposed to take a neutral position in unionizing. Cannot act against employees for unionizing b. They may present education information about what would happen if the company was unionized. c. Can penalize workers for talking about it during work hours, however not during off-work hours.

****Gender Equity Issues in Athletics

a. Gender-Based Exclusion from a Particular Sport b. Equal Athletic Participation Opportunities, Benefits, and Treatment

Biediger: University miscounted the number of women and the judge was misinformed. (counted cheerleading as sport)

a. General rule: you cannot count emerging sports as counting towards title IX. b. Here, the university claimed to have a 3.62% disparity, however, this was misleading. The bigger the percentage, the bigger the chance you are not in compliance with title IX. c. Will look at totality of circumstances when analyzing a disparity.

3. The Validity of Liability Waivers High School

a. High schools require athletes to sign waivers that promises not to hold the school, school district, and coach liable. b. Waivers cannot waive liability for gross conduct, negligent liability. If students are injured, and if schools fail to provide care that an ordinary person would provide, they may be liable. i. Especially a situation where a coach pressures a player to play while he/she is injured.

3. Does the association qualify as a state actor for constitutional purposes?

a. If determined a private organization, constitutional protections will not apply b. In determining state action, courts look at whether the association is "entwined" with the state.

New Jersey Giants: new stadium is located in New Jersey, but they are not relocating from New York

a. If there is confusion among the consumers as to the source of the goods or services that applies not only to merchandise, that would be a violation b. Another factor is the quality of the goods or services.

Questions to ask when issuing negative injunctions in a contract issue.

a. Is it necessary to prevent imminent and irreparable harm? b. Is the injunction reasonable in its duration and scope?

National Labor Relations Act Process

a. Labor union will go into industry to recruit workers. When it believes it has a majority of the workers, it then files with the NLRB a petition for an election b. NLRB calls this a Question Calling for Representation (QCR) c. If it is voted, then it is recognized as the bargaining agent and under the NLRA, the union and others are required to meet at reasonable times and in good faith.

Lindland: two competitors claimed they were the rightful representatives of the U.S. in wrestling.

a. Main point: arbitration is the process in which determines who participates on USOC teams. It is binding. b. Rules stipulate that both parties to the arbitration must be present c. The Federal Arbitration Act may be invoked if the NGB or USOC refuses to obey it. Typically courts will not get involved with the merits, but will review the process.

Transfer Rules

a. Most school districts mandate that a student transferring for no valid reason must sit out a year of eligibility b. High school had transfer rule that said if a student transfers for a nonathletic reason, you must sit out a year of eligibility. c. Holding: Court said this was a private organization and the court would intervene only when a rule is inequitable or arbitrary and capricious. d. Point: again, courts will only intervene unless a rule is inequitable or arbitrary and capricious

4. Breach of Duty to Bargain in Good Faith and to Provide Relevant Information Concerning Mandatory Subjects of Collective Bargaining

a. NLRB decision, at the request of the players' associations, required team owners to open their financial books. b. Court ruled that employers are NOT required to open their financial books. Labor or previous case law does not give the court the power to order MLB owners to disclose their team's financial situation. c. Not uncommon in major industries for workers and unions to prepare for the possibility of strikes or work stoppages.

3. Retaliation Against Union Activists

a. Nordstrom: Sam McCollum was terminated by the Seattle Seahawks. b. He claims he was terminated because of his union activity, the coach rebuts that argument. c. The NLRB said that McCollum was terminated illegally. d. Main points: i. Extremely hard for players to prove that they were cut due to union activity. ii. Highly speculative what the damages would be due to the fact that the lifespan of a professional athlete is so short.

1. McCormick: women's soccer playing in the spring rather than fall and miss on post season play. Girls are robbed of opportunity

a. OCR considers a host of factors to determine whether a school is in compliance: i. One factor is scheduling and practice time.

****Regulating Olympic and International Atlhetics

a. Organization, Governance, and Structure of the Olympic Movement b. Regulation of Olympic Sports Within the United States

**** Professional Sports League Governance and Legal Regulation

a. Origin and Evolution of Modern Professional Sports Industries b. Internal League Governance and Commissioner Authority c. Antitrust Law Limits on League Governance and Rules

Morris: Morris brought action against PGA because PGA limited access to the course to other media outlets

a. PGA rules: if you don't delay the broadcast and pay a fee, we won't let you in. Must abide by PGA rules b. Court held that the PGA does have the right to sell the product and its scores and can ban, by contract, media entering into the playing area. Morris has no effective course of action. c. As long as you independently and legally collect the information, then no CR infringement.

Good Conduct (Brands v. Shedlon Community School)

a. Party with sex and alcohol. Players were there and rumors floated around the school. Players were then suspended. The school said that the suspension was based on the inability of the school to operate. This is called the "community norm" type of approach. b. Court rejected all of the player's constitutional claims and said the only way to get relief is through procedural or substantive due process. He was given plenty of it c. Main Point: even the factual basis for decisions will not be reviewed by the court unless there has not been a fair opportunity by the plaintiff to make his case.

TEST for Title IX

a. Percentage of women in the total number of percentage of athletes is disproportionate to the number of women in the student body b. Even though there is a disparity, if the institution has a history of development and continuing effort to develop women's athletics, it will be in compliance c. Tried and been responsive, but the women are just not coming

Factors for Confusion

a. Price b. Strength of the Mark c. Length of time D used the mark without actual confusion d. Degree of Similarity: the more similar the D's trademark is to the P's, the more likely confusion will take place e. Intent of D in adopting the mark i. If he does not have good intent of taking up mark separate from the P, then it starts getting weird. f. Evidence of Actual Confusion

CBA drug testing policy generally has two concerns:

a. Privacy of individual players to the maximum extent possible b. Clear and definite articulation of the programs, purposes, procedures, and sanctions.

2. League Refusal to Recognize Players Union as Exclusive Bargaining Representative

a. Relationship between the team and players made league-wide bargaining the appropriate avenue. b. It's illegal for an employer to engage in bargaining with an organization who is not the certified representative. c. Canadian teams agreed to be bound by U.S. labor law.

Outside Competition Rules

a. School had a rule that you cannot compete with an outside athletic team during a school sanctioned sport season. b. Court held that the rule was rationally related to the assn.'s purpose of drafting rules that protect the welfare of high school athletes. c. Courts will not go behind the back of associations to determine the validity of their rules.

2. Daniels I & II: gender based disparities in girls softball programs compared to the boy's baseball programs. Facilities are not equal and the court held that it is clear the boys are treated better

a. School's response was we will takeaway stuff from the boys. b. Court held that will engender backlash between boys and girls. It said that they must make a good faith effort to come into compliance and they cannot redline items from the boys to make it equal. c. Court took unusual step of ordering the school district on what to do.

3 Ways to get around SI

a. State Waiver b. Fraud c. Denial of Due Course of Law d. Whistleblower Claim e. Takings Claim

Boucher: Second prong case. At Syracuse, there was a disparity.

a. Syracuse was able to show that it had a history of expanding sports to women. Syracuse had attempted to foster the expansion of women in sports, thereby satisfying the second prong.

Dilution by Tarnishment

a. Tarnishes the reputation of the mark. Spreads a bad reputation about the mark. i. Mark must be famous (i.e. Dallas Cowboys)

Academic Eligibility Requirements

a. These rules are typically upheld because there is no property right to play sports and sports in there vary nature are separate from curriculum. b. "No Pass, No Play:" routinely upheld. Again because courts are reluctant to go behind the assn.'s back. Texas was the first state to enact such a law.

Age Rules

a. Tiffany was a student athlete who turned 19 before his senior year. School had rule prohibiting 19 year olds from playing on football team. Tiffany sued claiming he has a property interest in playing football. b. Court said that usually there is not property interest of right to participate in high school sports i. Exception: when a player is already on a high school sports team, you may not be removed without some sort of due process. c. School district must abide by its own rules and regulations when conducting hearings and issuing rulings. Not doing so will result in judicial intervention. d. Baisden: age limitations are typically upheld

Home schooled Students

a. Typically homeschooled students are not allowed to participate in interscholastic sports. However, 30 states have rules permitting them to play, but discretion is left to the individual schools. "Tim Tebow" Rules

8. Pederson: A university may do everything to accommodate women, but fewer women want to participate in sports given that LSU has discriminated against them in sports.

a. University does have to monitor its employees' actions b. Courts are reluctant to tell schools how to remedy a title IX noncompliance violation. However, they will give recommendations and either approve or disapprove of the schools remedy plans.

3. Courts will intervene in league business if:

a. Where the rules, regulations, or judgments of the association are in contravention to the laws of the land b. Where the association cannot show due process of law c. If an associations decisions making process is arbitrary and capricious or is tainted my malice or bad faith

1. Edward: what duty of care is owed by the owner or operator of stadium to the people?

a. While the game is in play and a ball leaves the field, it is recognized as typical of play and not a liability. Duty is limited to the known risk b. Court held that the landowner owes a duty that is symmetrical to the duty owed by spectators that the spectators must exercise ordinary care to protect themselves from a risk and the owner must exercise ordinary care to not increase that risk.

Speakers of Sport: SOS claims that Proserv tortuously interfered with a negotiation in violation of state law

a. You cannot have tortious interference without a breach of K b. Unless you can prove that Proserv absolutely knew at the time they could not deliver on the deal, there is no basis to allege tortious interference. c. Court ultimately found this was competition and legal. d. "Poaching:" unless you can prove that there is fraud going on, there is very little the original agent can do to keep the other agents away.

v. Rules of the Game violations:

are inherent and anticipated aspects of sports contests and thus insufficient to establish sports liability by themselves. In order to plead rule, you have to plead recklessness beyond the inherent risks of the game.

Arbitrary

bears really no relation to its product Ex: Black & White Scotch

Fraud and breach of fiduciary duty

can also bring punitive damages

ETW & CBC

collection of information may be the subject of legitimate controls, but once it is obtained, the first amendment would suggest that there is not a limit or nothing state law can do to prohibit the legitimate use of that information

Fair Use & Parody

copyright allows much more parody as fair use than does trademark. a. Saw 'em off scandal: copyright standpoint was fair use. Trademark, not so much.

Title IX

currently enforced by the OCR of the Department of Education

Fanciful

does not exist in the English language. Ex: Kodak. This will receive the most protection unless the word becomes the class of the product.

Reality of Colts Case

e. Reality was that the Colts had a lot of market position. People identified Baltimore Colts with the Indianapolis Colts. i. Would be good if you could show actual confusion from fans like letters ii. Cannot ride the coattails of an NFL team Here the Baltimore Colts were likely to cause confusion, thus they could not use the name

Lanham Act:

federal trademark act and works hand in hand with state law.

International playing

foreign regulations that an agent might have to deal with. It is possible that a U.S. sports agent will team up with a foreign agent to know the country's law a. International tax questions are important for the agent to know

b. Garvey: sued claiming his K was not extended due to collusion. He submitted a letter from the CEO stating an offer to extend the K. Arbiter decided against Garvey.

held that judicial review of an arbitration decision is very limited and courts are not allowed to review the decisions on the merits despite an appeal that may rely on errors in merits ii. Courts do not look at facts, only procedure iii. A court may intrude only when a decision is beyond the scope of the CBA or when the arbiter is deemed to have dispensed his own brand of industrial justice

In order to satisfy the second prong of Title IX

i. A history of program expansion ii. Continuing practice of program expansion.

Factors for Home Schooled Students

i. Certain athletic eligibility differences ii. Grading differences iii. Financial burden on school districts to accommodate home schooled students.

c. Shin: P was in front of tee box when D teed off hitting P in the head.

i. Court held that primary assumption of risk doctrine should be applied to golf. ii. Golfers have a limited duty of care to other players breached only if they intentionally injure them or engage in conduct "so reckless as to be totally outside the range of the ordinary activity involved in the sport" iii. Primary assumption of Risk: D owes no duty to protect P from harms arising from ordinary or simple negligence

Newcombe: SI edition features an Ad with Coors like with a ink drawing of himself

i. Court held that this is a violation of Cali law from right of publicity. 1. Only have to invoke likeness in order to be held liable. ii. California has both a common law right and statutory right to publicity and its purpose is to protect people from commercial appropriation. iii. First sale doctrine applies to the first commercial sale of that item. Nothing happens to the purchaser or reseller.

b. Hackbart I & II: Special teams play, Hackbart was struck in the back of the head by a pissed off opposing player

i. Court rules that tort liability is appropriate for conduct that is not a customary of the game ii. Despite having to determine between tortious and non-tortious conduct, court should not ever decide (this is a fact question for the jury) iii. The court system should be used to regulate the violence in professional sports. iv. This violence did not fit into the scope of the game.

e. Participation Rights of Athletes with Physical or Mental Impairments

i. Enhanced Risk of Harm to Oneself ii. Enhanced Risk of Harm to Others iii. Modification of Rules of the Game iv. Modification of Eligibility Requirements

Regulations and Legislation for Agents

i. Federal Regulation (SPARTA: The Sports Agent Responsibility Trust Act; Non-Agent-Specific Federal Legislation) ii. State Regulation: The UAAA (Uniform Athlete Agents Act) (UAAA 2000) iii. Players Associations (Brown v. Woolf; NFLPA Regulations Governing Contract Advisors)

a. Organization, Governance, and Structure of the Olympic Movement

i. IOC (International Olympic Committee): ii. IF's (International Sports Federations): iii. NOC's (National Olympic Committees): iv. NGB's (National Governing Bodies): v. Organizing Committee for the Host Country:

TVRADIONow: signal originates in Canada and transmits to viewers in the U.S. Was this a violation of the public performance right under CR law?

i. If any part of the process takes place in the U.S., there may be a CR violation for that part. ii. Infringement took place in the U.S. therefore U.S. law controls.

National & American: led to the dismantling of MLB's reserve system. The CBA had explicitly excluded the reserve system from arbitration.

i. Main question: did the arbiters overstep their authority in declaring that two players had no K with their respective teams? ii. No, even though the CBA stated that, the rest of the CBA referenced the reserve system in numerous places and thus the arbiters established jurisdiction iii. Once K's expire between a team and player, there is no further relationship between the team and player iv. Formed free agency and if no player is released or signed after 6 years, then he becomes a free agent.

d. Emerging Sports:

i. No postseason play, then it is typically designated as an emerging sport. Also, the amount of schools offering the sport comes into play for purposes of counting them towards title IX. ii. Rugby, Equestrian, Sand Volleyball are recognized by the NCAA as emerging sports. Colleges and universities may go out and recruit players for these sports.

Public Act

i. Number of persons beyond the normal circle of family or acquaintances. Must approach 20-30 before being considered public. 1. So 50 people at your house watching a game might be a public act.

USC PIACR: Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo refused to cooperate with an NCAA investigation.

i. One-year-show-cause penalty: if a university wants to hire a coach that has been hit with an OYSC penalty, they must demonstrate why it would be in the universities best interest to hire that coach. ii. Standard of Review: abuse of discretion of COI iii. COOPERATE WITH THE INVESTIGATION

Kansas City

i. Only two situations in which a broad arbitration provision may be deemed to exclude a particular grievance: 1. Where the CBA contains an express provision clearly excluding the grievance involved from arbitration 2. Where the agreement contains an ambiguous exclusionary provision and the record evinces the most forceful evidence of a purpose to exclude the grievance from arbitration. (Intent?) ii. Unless you can specifically state that it is not subject to arbitration, the arbiter has authority

a. Categories of Intellectual Property Law

i. Patent Law ii. Trademark Law iii. Copyright Law They differ significantly in kinds of things they protect and the hurdles each of them pose

d. New Orleans Bounty: payments of bonuses for injuring players. They were fined $500,000, forfeited second round draft in 2012 and 2013

i. Players appealed and were found to be blameworthy but because of procedural issues, vacated penalties against the players. Penalties against coaches and owners stand. Coaching staff was not cooperative so the penalties were severe.

Arbitration is essentially a "blind system"

i. Team decides on what it wants to pay and so does the player. They both submit it to the panel. ii. Player must be able to show that he is worth that amount of money iii. Panel can only choose one of the amounts and cannot fashion their own rewards. iv. Evidence not admissible

c. Sports Medicine Medical Malpractice Liability

i. Team doctor has a COI 1. Doctor has a duty to patient 2. Doctor is a team doctor, contractual duty to the club ii. If the player has engaged in any kind of contributory negligence, that is a factor to be considered in any medical malpractice

IX. Health, Safety, and Risk Management Issues in Sports

i. Tort and Criminal Liability for Athletes-Related Injuries ii. Injury to Athletes

Liability of Educational Institutions in high schools

in different position than post-secondary schools. Different standard of care than in college

Commissioner has the authority to take actions that are...

in the best interest of the sport.

What if the concern is to an individual club and not a league concern or policy?

it could be subject to arbitration

What if P pleads an act outside of the inherent risk of the game

judges ought to be very cautious for granting SJ for D because of fact questions

Outer Time limit:

life of the author plus 70 years Protection begins on creation. Must have an author.

Issue of Sovereign Immunity and Safety

many Jx's have the issue of sovereign immunity and some stadiums are owned by the government.

Can liquidated damages be a penalty?

may NOT be a penalty and it is a policy decision to not want to discourage employees from moving up in the workplace or seeking employment that is beneficial.

Suggestive Mark

not descriptive, makes you suggest thinking about something.

False Light

not unlike defamation in the sense that what is said about a person paints them in a false light. The measure of damages if internal feeling

Descriptive

nothing more than a functional descriptive term of service.

WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization):

operates an arbitration service to help aggrieved parties.

Modern Solution Labor Arbitration

panel of 3 arbiters. Two are representatives of the unions and the third is an impartial arbiter who chairs the arbitration

NCAA Oct 2012 change to penalty structure

presume only responsibility on behalf of the coach. (Former rule was knowledge + responsibility) Really broadened the rule.

TM Law

protects a players identity in a good or service in commerce. If a player didn't consent to it, it doesn't seem right you can make money off of it.

Federal Copyright Act:

protects original works of authorship.

SPARTA: Sports Agent REsponsibility Trust Act; Non Agent Specific Federal Legislation.

regulates agents' promises they can make. No false or misleading statements and absolutely no gifts. CAN GIVE NOTHING OF VALUE a. Attempts to regulate the recruitment of student-athletes when they enter the pros. b. Does not preempt state law, works with it. c. Cannot postdate or predate any agency K d. Within 72 hours of signing a K, the agent AND student athlete must notify the university

Recreational statute immunity:

states reward landowners by shielding them from liability for use of their land by the public.

e. Racial inequality:

strict scrutiny

Kish Holding

that nothing in the contract or university practice or policy grants the coach a property right, thus not giving him due process. 1. At-will employees usually no property right in his or her employment. 2. A coach may be entitled to due process protections even if the K is for an indefinite amount of time. If it can be demonstrated that an implied-in-fact promise was present, than a property interest may be present a. Implied in fact can be demonstrated by the conduct of the parties, personnel policies, practices of industry... 3. Liberty interest may be implicated if statements from a certain person damages the coach's reputation

Collective Licensing

the leagues enforce rules regarding licensing

Umpires NLRB Decision

umpires had a right to organize just as other employees have that right. Because baseball is characterized as a business, the NLRB has jurisdiction

Agent Standard Duty of Care

use your "best efforts" to represent the athlete Act in good faith Cant Divert principal's money for personal investment purposes. Athletes can prevail against agents for claims of breach, fraud, and negligence. International playing

Intrusion into Seclusion

where a player wants to get away from it all and has a high house with tall fences and someone flies a helicopter over it.

Public Disclosure of Embarrassing facts

where a professional player's has come skeleton in his closet and has nothing to do with play on the field.