Exploring College Sports in the Time of COVID-19: A Legal, Medical, and Ethical Analysis

70 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2020 Last revised: 12 Aug 2021

See all articles by Marc Edelman

Marc Edelman

City University of New York - Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business; Fordham University School of Law

Thomas Baker

University of Georgia

John T. Holden

Oklahoma State University

Andrew G. Shuman

University of Michigan Hospitals - Department of Otalaryngology

Date Written: September 1, 2020

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the safety of people attending large social gatherings including organized sporting events. As the number of deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 skyrocketed in March 2020, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) suspended all member colleges’ spring sports seasons. The NCAA has since implemented new guidelines that allow for individual member colleges to make independent decisions about if, and when, to resume their intercollegiate sports programs. This Article explores the implications of resuming intercollegiate sports in the midst of a pandemic from a legal, medical and ethical perspective. The team of scholars who authored this Article include professors at four major public universities, with terminal degrees in the fields of law, medicine, education, and sports management. Adopting a true interdisciplinary approach to the question of how and when to return to sport, the authors collectively express their concerns regarding how NCAA member colleges are approaching the legal and ethical issues surrounding the offering of intercollegiate sports during a pandemic, and propose ten best practices for colleges to determine when and how to resume offering intercollegiate sports.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, negligence, sports law, sports, college sports, NCAA, college football, sports business, NCAA, sports ethics, medical ethics, health, education, health law, education law, antitrust law, medical ethics

JEL Classification: Z2, Z21, Z28, K21, K31, I00, I1, I10, I2, I20, I23, I28, I38, J47, J5, J88

Suggested Citation

Edelman, Marc and Baker, Thomas and Holden, John and Shuman, Andrew G., Exploring College Sports in the Time of COVID-19: A Legal, Medical, and Ethical Analysis (September 1, 2020). 2021 Michigan State L. Rev. 469 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3693842

Marc Edelman (Contact Author)

City University of New York - Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business ( email )

One Bernard Baruch Way
Box B9-220
New York, NY 10010
United States

Fordham University School of Law ( email )

140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
United States

Thomas Baker

University of Georgia ( email )

4458 Tacoma Trce.
Suwanee, GA GA 30024
United States
3525148113 (Phone)
3525148113 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://https://coe.uga.edu/directory/profiles/tab3

John Holden

Oklahoma State University ( email )

464 Business Building
Stillwater, OK 74078-0555
United States

Andrew G. Shuman

University of Michigan Hospitals - Department of Otalaryngology ( email )

1500 E. Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
United States

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