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Abstract: This article argues that America needs to better protect its local communities against monopolist sports leagues' demands for publicly funded stadiums. Part I of this article discusses the evolution of sports stadium subsidies. Part II discusses why American communities continue to provide subsidies to professional sports teams. Part III explains why providing stadium subsidies is a bad idea for most local communities. Part IV discusses four types of proposals intended to reduce sports teams' power to demand stadium subsidies. Part V proposes a federal bill that would better protect the interests of American communities by ensuring that any community which builds a professional sports facility is able to keep the pro rata share of that facility's revenue stream.
stadium subsidies, publicly funded stadiums, sports law, sports economics, antitrust
Abstract: This article provides the legal argument why the Seventh Circuit was wrong to classify the National Football League ("NFL") as a single entity under antitrust law for the purposes of trademark licensing.
This article is best read along with my longer, economics-driven piece, "Why the Single Entity' Defense Can Never Apply to NFL Clubs," which appeared in Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2008.
antitrust, single entity, single entity defense, Copperweld, National Football League, NFL, NFL Properties, licensing, trademarks, Sherman Act, Section 1, collusion
Abstract: This article argues that as a matter of law and economics, clubs in the four premier American sports leagues lack sufficient unity of interest for any court to classify them as "single entities." Part I of this article discusses the contemporary law-and-economics theory underlying the allocation of private and common property. Part II explains the three different property-rights systems that have emerged in American professional sports: (1) the pure private property system (no unity of interest); (2) the pure common property system (complete unity of interest); and (3) the mixed-mode system (partial unity of interest). Part III describes the contractual underpinnings of the mixed-mode property system, as that system applies to the four premier American sports leagues. Part IV analyzes the allocation of property rights in the mixed-mode system and explains why sports clubs operating in that system cannot form a "single-entity" league.
sports law, antitrust, Sherman Act, single entity, Copperweld, American Needle, licensing, National Football League, NFL, NFL Properties
Abstract: This article presents a plan for Major League Baseball to move past its history of collusion, and into a new era marked by more collegial labor-management relations. Part I of this Article provides an historical analysis of Baseball's reserve system, free agency system, and anti-collusion requirements. Part II discusses the three 1980s arbitration decisions that each found Major League Baseball club owners to have illegally colluded in violation of the Major League Basic Agreement ("Collective Bargaining Agreement" or "CBA"). Part III discusses more recent allegations of collusion pertaining to the 2002 and 2007 Baseball off-seasons. Part IV explains how Baseball's history of collusion continues haunt the game's integrity in terms of both its labor-management relationship and its relationship with fans. Part V suggests a series of best practices that Major League Baseball should adopt to move past its dark history of collusion and toward a new period of labor-management cooperation.
sports, sports law, sports economics, collusion, baseball, baseball collusion, Bud Selig, steroids, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, antitrust, colelctive bargaining, labor relations
Abstract: This article discusses the legal risks that would emerge if the National Basketball Association ("NBA") and National Football League ("NFL") decide to expand into Europe. Part I of this article explains the differences in operating structure between U.S. and European professional sports leagues. Part II discusses the differences in competition law between the United States and European Community. Part III explains why the legal status of age and education requirements (age/education requirements) is more favorable to professional sports leagues under U.S. law than under EC law. Part IV explains why the legal status of league drafts and reserve systems also might be more favorable to professional sports leagues under U.S. law.
sports, law, sports law, antitrust, international, international antitrust, global, basketball, football, Section Act, collusion, EC Treaty, Treaty of Rome, Free Movement, Article 81, Article 39, non-stutory labor exemption, Mackey, Clarett
Abstract: This article analyzes whether a new women’s professional soccer league, operating under a more traditional legal structure, is more likely to succeed than its centrally planned predecessor. Part I of this article explains the history of women’s soccer, including the game’s transition from a recreational to a professional activity. Part II explains the different legal structures that are available to an American sports league. Part III explains why implementing a traditional legal structure maximizes the new women’s professional soccer league’s likelihood of success.
sports, law, sports law, antitrust, Sherman Act, Section One, soccer, women, women's soccer, single entity, Copperweld, league structure, FIFA, WUSA, women's sports, sports economics, Mia Hamm
Abstract: This Article explains why some courts would likely find the NFL Personal Conduct Policy to violate § 1 of the Sherman Act, and explores ways in which the NFL clubs could promote off-the-field decorum without risking antitrust liability. Part I of this Article discusses the underlying business structure of the NFL. Part II provides a brief overview of § 1 of the Sherman Act. Part III analyzes the legality of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy under § 1 of the Sherman Act. Part IV proposes four ways in which NFL clubs could promote positive off-the-field decorum without incurring antitrust risk.
sports, law, sports law, antitrust, Sherman Act, group boycott, concerted refusal to deal, Rule of Reason, National Football League, NFL, commissioner, discipline, commissioner discipline, Michael Vick, Molinas, nonstatutory labor exemption
Abstract: This article discusses the WNBA age/education policy from a legal, cultural, and ethical perspective. Part One of this article discusses the women's basketball landscape in terms of sociology, race, and gender. Part Two discusses the history of women's basketball in America, as well as the history of the WNBA and its age/education policy. Part Three explains the legal issues that underlie an antitrust challenge to the WNBA age/education policy under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Part Four discusses the likely effect on society if the courts were to overturn the WNBA age/education policy.
WNBA, antitrust, age requirements, education requirements, ethics, gender
Abstract: In the March 2002 case Fraser v. Major League Soccer, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s finding that America’s twelve Major League Soccer clubs (“MLS”) compete in an international market for men’s professional soccer labor. The court then held that the MLS clubs do not have enough market power to collude illegally under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
At the time when Fraser was decided, few believed the case would become relevant to America’s other professional sports leagues. Indeed, at that time, most other American sports clubs did not compete with foreign clubs for premier men’s player labor.
In recent years, however, the National Basketball Association has lost between 9% and 15% of their players to clubs in foreign leagues. In addition, National Basketball Association clubs now hire approximately 12% of their players directly from foreign countries.
This article examines whether a court today could reasonably find that clubs in the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) compete in an international market for men’s professional basketball labor. Part I of this article discusses how antitrust law applies to professional sports leagues, and explains why sports leagues seek to convince courts that they operate in an international market for player labor. Part II discusses the history of player movement between U.S. and foreign basketball leagues. Part III explores whether a court today could reasonably find there to be an international market for premier men’s professional basketball players.
Antitrust, Sherman Act, Collusion, Section 1, sports, sports law, market power, basketball, market definition, geographic market, labor market, labor
Abstract: This article argues that a concerted agreement among baseball clubs to increase the supply of free agent players violates baseball's collusion clause, and therefore, MLB clubs are at risk of losing another collusion grievance. Part I of this article explains the evolution of baseball's collusion clause and discusses three past collusion grievances filed by the MLBPA in the 1980s. Part II explains baseball's collusion-free period, which began with the settlement of 1980s collusion disputes. Part III discusses why MLB clubs may have again violated the "collusion clause" in the 2002-03 off-season.
baseball, Major League Baseball, collusion, labor, antitrust, sports, sports law, sports economics
Abstract: This Note argues that courts should interpret NCAA conduct under the Principle of Amateurism as a violation of 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and that courts should order NCAA deregulation of student-athletes' indirect financial activities. Part I of this Note discusses the history of NCAA regulation, specifically its Principle of Amateurism. Part II discusses the current impact of antitrust laws on the NCAA. Part III argues that the NCAA violates antitrust laws because the Principle of Amateurism's overall effect is anticompetitive. Part IV argues the NCAA could institute an amateurism standard with a net pro-competitive effect by allowing student athletes to pursue business opportunities neutral to college budgets; potential revenue sources would include: summer professional leagues, endorsement contracts, and paid-promotional appearances.
amateurism, NCAA, antitrust, paying athletes, NCAA deregulation, men's college basketball, sports, sports law, sports economics
Abstract: This Article argues that, to be effective, hazing law needs to impose both a criminal and civil duty on school personnel to act affirmatively. Part I of this article discusses in detail the problem of high school hazing. Part II discusses how American law addresses (or fails to address) hazing. Part III discusses shortcomings in moral reasoning that underlie current anti-hazing law. Part IV explores legal alternatives to address hazing. Part V concludes that the best way to address hazing is for Congress, under its spending power, to withhold education funds from individual states unless they: 1) impose both a criminal and civil duty on school personnel to act affirmatively against hazing, 2) impose penalties on school personnel that violate these duties, and 3) bar the affirmative defenses of "assumption of risk" and "sovereign immunity" where these duties are violated.
hazing, high school, duty of care, duty to act affirmatively, assumption of risk, deterrence, retribution
Abstract: This article presents a broad-based plan to prevent high school hazing. Part I of this article details the problem of high school hazing. Part II explains how American law, both civil and criminal, addresses hazing. Part III discusses the shortcomings in moral reasoning that underlie American anti-hazing law. Part IV explores four legal alternatives to better address high school hazing. Part V suggests that the best way to prevent hazing is by both implementing broad-based federal anti-hazing law and instituting various state and local reforms.
hazing, high school hazing, hazing prevention, anti-hazing law
Abstract: This Article argues that the unilateral contraction of a MLB team such as the Minnesota Twins, as suggested by Commissioner Selig, may violate antitrust law. Part I of this Article discusses the history of MLB, the Minnesota Twins, antitrust law, and baseball's historic antitrust exemption. Part II discusses the issues involved in stating an antitrust claim against MLB and explains why Commissioner Selig's contraction plan was never a sure deal.
antitrust, contraction, baseball, Curt Flood Act
Abstract: This article argues that Congress needs to pass a bill that bans professional sports subsidies. Part I discusses the historical evolution of sports subsidies. Part II explains the inefficiencies in the legal and economic environment that have led cities to subsidize professional sports teams. Part III discusses four types of proposals intended to reduce subsidization, and Part IV concludes the best way to regulate professional sports is to pass a bill that outlaws sports subsidies altogether.
sports, stadium, subsidies, antitrust, monopoly, prisoner's dilemma
Abstract: This Article explains how MLB club-owners use their control over the market for premier, professional baseball to demand free public stadiums. Part I of this Article explains how the United States has moved from having just one publicly funded MLB stadium (pre-1950s) to having over twenty-five publicly funded stadiums (present). Part II shows how, in recent years, MLB club-owners have continued to demand more money from their host cities and how host cities generally succumb to MLB club-owners’ demands.
stadium subsidies, publicly funded stadiums, sports law, sports economics, antitrust, sports, law, baseball, baseball stadiums, subsidy, monopoly
Abstract: This article/editorial looks at the legal issues that would emerge under Section 7 of the Clayton Act if the Arena Football League teams attempted to merge into a single-entity league.
sports, antitrust, Clayton Act, Section 7, merger, acquisition, competition, labor market, ticket prices, geographic market, product market
Abstract: This editorial looks at the potential for an NFL player to challenge the league's age/education requirement. The editorial was written before the NFL age/education requirement was directly written into the league collective bargaining agreement, as well as before the NFL put forward to argument that the age/education requirement was implicitly part of the collective bargaining agreement.
sports, law, sports law, antitrust, age requirements, education requirements, Maurice Clarett, Sherman Act, collusion, sports antitrust
Abstract: This editorial argues that, as a matter of public policy, the U.S. government should allow Cuba to compete in the World Baseball Classic.
sports, baseball, Cuba, embargo, diamond diplomacy, sports law, Communism
Abstract: This article/editorial discusses the potential business advantages stemming from allowing public investment into the UFL (a new, start-up professional football league).
sports, sports marketing, sports law, public shareholders, loyalty, football, competition
Abstract: This commentary discusses the history of the position of Major League Commissioner and the advantages to maintaining a truly neutral commissioner
Major League Baseball, sports, baseball, law, sports law, commissioner, commissioner's power, Bud Selig, Kennesaw Mountain Landis
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