The Right to Play: How Sports Leagues Worldwide Interfere with the Fundamental Right to Work

38 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2018

See all articles by Zach Schreiber

Zach Schreiber

Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP; Independent

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

Professional sports are a way of life in many parts of the world. Whether it is baseball, known in the United States as “the national pastime,” cricket, or football, sports are instrumental in people’s lives because they transcend race, nationality, and socioeconomic status. All over the globe, young children grow up playing sports as a way of learning self-esteem, teamwork, and fitness. Therefore, it is no surprise that many young children aspire to have careers in professional sports. While the odds are long, a few have the talent and luck to eventually don the uniform of a professional sports club.

Many countries have their own professional sports associations. Whether it is the National Basketball Association (NBA), which is both the top basketball league in the United States and in the world, or the English Premier League, the top football league in the United Kingdom, professional sport has grown from its humble roots to be a multibillion dollar industry. Television broadcasting deals have certainly been the biggest driver of the increased revenues, but other aspects such as advances in technology and ease of transportation have also facilitated the rapid growth of fandom in sports. With the amount of money flowing through professional sports, the average fan would believe that every professional athlete is paid exorbitant sums to play.

While there are over 113,000 professional football players worldwide, only a select few get paid at the high levels that the casual fan probably assumes. In the English Premier League, for example, the average salary is approximately $2.8 million. On the other hand, the average salary for footballers in the United States only approaches $170,000 per year, and in Nigeria this drops to under $8500 per year. This might be especially surprising to most considering that football is the most popular team sport in the world. Other sports, such as cricket and basketball, are also on the center stage throughout the world, but salaries are incomparable to those of association football. For professional athletes, the window of opportunity to earn a living is far shorter than the average person due to factors like injury and aging. Therefore, the development of an international marketplace, where a player signs with the highest bidder, is inevitable.

Focusing on two of the world’s top sports, there are two organizations that control the governance of professional football and professional basketball, respectively: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Although unrelated, both organizations operate similarly. FIBA’s website states that they are “the world governing body for basketball...formed by 213 National federations...throughout the world.” These federations are the controlling body of basketball in each country, and oversee their country’s leagues, as well as the teams that are fielded in international competition. FIBA also “establishes the Official Basketball Rules[,]...controls and governs all international competitions,” and, most importantly, “regulates the transfer of players from one country to another.” FIFA, likewise, is responsible for competition, player discipline, and international transfers. While both FIBA and FIFA regulate their sports at the global level, each country’s federation operates under their umbrellas.

In both basketball and football, there are varying levels of competition. To start, most countries — ranging from as small as Belize and Benin, to as large as Russia and the United States — have their own sports leagues. The level of play varies from country to country, and generally, the competitiveness of each league is loosely tied to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) — although this trend is not static. Furthermore, while the United States has the world’s highest GDP and the top basketball league in the world, its national team in football ranks only 30th. Nevertheless, each country’s federation organizes a domestic league where clubs throughout the country compete against one another. In addition to competing in a domestic league, there are also international competitions or tournaments. These competitions pit the best club teams from each country against one another, in an attempt to crown a regional or even worldwide champion. Lastly, players also have the opportunity to compete for their country’s national team. A separate team from the club that athletes are regularly employed by, the national team is composed of the best players who are citizens of that country. While this is a source of national pride, it is also part of a day’s work for the athletes — they are usually compensated for playing, albeit usually for far less pay, and a provision providing for such play is embedded into the FIBA and FIFA bylaws.

To be sure, there are plenty of professional athletes who are compensated highly for the work that they perform. Nevertheless, the expectation from the average sports fan is that the hefty salaries of the top players trickle down to all levels of professional play across the globe. This is simply not the case. The vast majority of players in professional football and basketball earn an average, or even below average, salary and are not able to be financially independent. While some athletes are adored enough to receive accolades, and even statues of themselves, others live paycheck to paycheck, similar to nearly half of working people in the United States.

As is typically the case for those who live within modest means, there is constant strain in the employer-employee relationship in professional sports. This Article will explore the challenges professional athletes face with regards to discrimination and exploitation. Part II of this Article will discuss the history of professional sport as it pertains to the movement of players from team to team. It will also present modern issues in discrimination based on national origin in sport, discuss quota systems that are instituted in professional leagues throughout the world, examine labor abuses that regularly occur concerning athletes, and introduce the findings of a study that casts a dark light on sporting federations throughout Europe. Part III will introduce the regulations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union (EU), and how their conventions are applied towards professional athletes. Further, it will discuss how the ILO and EU treaties tread lightly on professional athletes, as compared to other similarly situated professions. Finally, Part IV will conclude with a discussion on whether athletes should be covered by the specific ILO conventions and EU treaties, and then address whether the current infrastructure should be changed by proposing alternative solutions to the problem.

Keywords: sports, ILO, labor law, basketball

Suggested Citation

Schreiber, Zach, The Right to Play: How Sports Leagues Worldwide Interfere with the Fundamental Right to Work (2018). 25 Sports Law. J. 19 (2018), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3194847

Zach Schreiber (Contact Author)

Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP ( email )

767 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10153
United States

Independent ( email )

United States

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