Sports Law Analytics

I spoke with a few students after class yesterday about the case brief assignment.  For the avoidance of any doubt, the case you select must be a published decision.  A lawsuit that settled out of court or was adjudicated without a published decision would not qualify for the assignment.  As I mentioned yesterday, it would be best if you select a case that pertains to a sport or subject matter of interest to you.  If you can’t think of anything, I can help.  Note - the fourteen cases set forth in the textbook are not eligible for selection as a part of this assignment.  Over the course of the next few days, I will list a number of cases that would be possible choices.  The parenthetical following each case citation is my summary of the case.  Remember, I need to approve your case selection on or before October 16, 2007.  First come, first served.  After a case is reserved by a classmate, it will not be available to others.  After you have reserved your case and are armed with the case name and its accompanying citations, there are two options for obtaining copies of the case you reserve.  The first option is to walk to the IU Law School Library and have a reference librarian point you towards the case in the stacks.  You can then photocopy the case.  The second option is to go to www.findlaw.com and register (it is free).  After you register, you can type in the case name and/or citation and an electronic copy will be provided that you can print off.  I will need a copy of the case too, so please give me a copy no later than October 16, 2007.

Here are some sample cases that you may find interesting:   

Ross v. Creighton University, 957 F.2d 410 (7th Cir. 1992) (educational negligence claim brought by former basketball player)

Rodgers v. Georgia Tech, 303 S.E.2d 467 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983) (breach of contract claim brought by former football coach)

NCAA v. Tarkanian, 488 U.S. 179 (1988) (claim by former basketball coach and decision whether the NCAA is a “state actor” under the U.S. Constitution)

TSSAA v. Brentwood Academy, 551 U.S. ____ (2007) (recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding due process issues between a state high school athletics association and a subject school)

Bloom v. NCAA, 93 P.3d 621 (Colo. App. 2004) (claim by skier and Univ. of Colorado football player regarding eligibility)

Williams v. School Dist. of Bethlehem, 998 F.2d 168 (3d Cir. 1993) (plaintiff boy sued for right to play on high school girls field hockey team)

Cohen v. Brown University, 101 F.3d 155 (1st Cir. 1996) (class action discrimination lawsuit against college athletic department)

Pederson v. LSU, 213 F.3d 858 (5th Cir. 2000) (discrimination lawsuit against college athletic department)

Kelley v. Univ. of Illinois, 35 F.3d 265 (7th Cir. 1994) (members of the men’s swimming team sued after the university decided to drop the program)

Stanley v. USC, 178 F.3d 1069 (9th Cir. 1999) (former women’s basketball coach sued on the basis of discrimination and breach of contract)

Speakers of Sport v. ProServ, 178 F.3d 862 (7th Cir. 1999) (agent sues competitor after losing top baseball client)

Brown v. Woolf, 554 F.Supp. 1206 (S.D. Ind. 1983) (hockey player sues agent citing breach of fiduciary duty)

Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals, 601 F.2d 516 (10th Cir. 1979) (issue whether tort liability arises if injury is sustained during the course of a football game)

Westbororough Country Club v. Palmer, 204 F.2d 143 (8th Cir. 1953) (issue whether golf club has liability for injuries incurred off the course)

Marrone v. Washington Jockey Club, 227 U.S. 633 (1913) (plaintiff sued race track after being denied entry to the event)

Jones v. Childers, 18 F.3d 899 (8th Cir. 1994) (pertaining to the fiduciary duty between a sports agent and a client)

Bias v. Advantage International, 905 F.2d 1558 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (estate of deceased Univ. of Maryland basketball star sued agent)

New England Patriots v. Univ. of Colorado, 592 F.2d 1196 (1st Cir. 1979) (pro team sued college for intentional interference with contractual relations in case involving football coach Chuck Fairbanks)

Ali v. Playgirl, 447 F. Supp. 723 (SDNY 1978) (boxing champ sues magazine over depiction in issue)

Tiger Woods v. Jireh Publishing, 332 F.3d 915 (6th Cir. 2001) (golfer sues artist over painting)

Abdul-Jabbar v. General Motors, 85 F.3d 407 (9th Cir. 1995) (former basketball star sues auto manufacturer over TV commercial)

NBA v. Motorola, 105 F.3d 841 (2d Cir. 1997) (league sues pager service over transmittal of real-time game scores)

Knapp v. Northwestern Univ., 101 F.3d 473 (7th Cir. 1996) (player with known heart ailment sues for right to play on college basketball team)

Sandison v. Michigan High School Athletic Assoc., 64 F.3d 1026 (6th Cir. 1995) (nineteen year old students sue for right to play high school sports)

Bowers v. NCAA, 9 F.Supp.2d 460 (D.N.J. 1998) (”nonqualifier” sues NCAA for right to play sports as a college freshman)

Reynolds v. IAAF, 23 F.3d 1110 (6th Cir. 1994) (400 meter star sues following positive drug test)

Lindland v. U.S. Wrestling Assoc., 227 F.3d 1000 (7th Cir. 2000) (Olympic wrestling hopeful sues after being denied a spot on the team for the 2000 Olympic Games)

Walters and Bloom v. Fullwood, 675 F.Supp. 155 (SDNY 1987) (another agent-related dispute involving Walters and Bloom determining whether player-agent contract was legal/enforceable)

Zinn v. Parrish, 644 F.2d 360 (7th Cir. 1981) (agent-related dispute about whether sports agent acted as an “investment advisor” in the course of providing services)

Black v. NFLPA, 87 F.Supp. 2d (D.D.C. 2000) (agent challenged union’s arbitration proceedings)

Forbes v. Eagleson, 228 F.3d 471 (3d Cir. 2000) (former NHL players sue NHLPA chief)

As everyone knows, Michael Vick entered a guilty plea in federal court on August 27, 2007.  Professor Mike McCann has an excellent follow-up piece on what’s next for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback.  You can access the article via the Sports Law Blog link to the right.

There are a small number of cases in the Sports Law textbook.  When we discuss such cases, I will employ a teaching tool called the Socratic Method.  A great summary of the Socratic Method can be found at http://www.law.uchicago.edu/socrates/method.html.  Please read the summary and accompanying links before class on September 4, 2007.  The Socratic Method is widely used in American law schools and is well-suited to the “case method” employed by the vast majority of law schools.  HPER K511 will be much different, as class time will largely be devoted to lecture and class discussion.  My aim in adopting the Socratic Method on a limited basis will be to foster collaboration and active learning (as opposed to passive learning).  By doing so, you will learn from me, I will learn from you, and we will all learn from each other.  With that said, there is one weakness in the Socratic Method.  Namely, it will fail to lend itself to its collaborative educational goals if students (or the instuctor) are unprepared.  As such, it is imperative that everyone reads (and understands) the small number of cases in the text.    

1. Introduction

2. Attendance

3. Syllabus Review

4. How to Read a Legal Opinion

5. How to Brief a Case

6. “Sports” Law Overview

7. Lecture Preview: Ch. 1 - Sports Agents

a. Principal-agent relationship

b. Qualifications to be a sports agent

c. History of the sports agency business

d. Regulation of sports agents

e. How do agents earn a living?

f. Case Study - U.S. v. Walters 

Every once in a while, I have the opportunity to contribute as a guest to the Sports Law Blog.  A link to the website is under the Blogroll to the right.  The Sports Law Blog is the leading blog for sports-related legal analysis.  Both the regular contributors and guests provide keen insight on a wide variety of issues.  A recent post by Michael McCann, a law professor at Mississippi College School of Law, caught my eye.  Professor McCann, who also writes a monthly column for SI.com, opines regarding the on-going Michael Vick episode.  

The first reading assignment is Chapter 1.  It pertains to sports agents, an issue that is always interesting to students.  Read the entire chapter.  However, you need only skim Exhibit 1-1 and Exhibit 1-2.  Read the entire U.S. v. Walters case. 

If you want to read more about the world of sports agents, I would recommend two additional resources.  The first is a book called The Business of Sports Agents.  The authors are Kenneth L. Shropshire (The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) and Timothy Davis (Wake Forest University School of Law).  Details about the book can be found at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812236823/qid=1116423332/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-3401789-1356728?v=glance&s=books.  I own the book and have read it twice.  I published a book review about the book several years ago in the ABA’s Entertainment and Sports Lawyer.  The second resource is available online at http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=melissa_neiman.  The author has earned both a J.D. and M.D., which is a very unique combination.  I have yet to read the article, but it was recommended to me on good authority.  I plan on reading it in the coming weeks. 

Note - the two supplemental materials mentioned in the preceding paragraph are not required reading.  You will not be tested on material in either supplement that isn’t otherwise discussed in the textbook or during the lectures.  

In anticipation of the case brief assignment (and subsequent oral defense), it is important to have some guidance on how to brief a case.  The best resource I have found to date is published by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  It can be found at http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/research/brief.html.  Make sure you understand the difference between an “appellate brief” and a “student brief.”  The assignment in HPER K511 concerns a “student brief.”  As the foregoing link explains, the student brief should contain seven elements.  They are:

1. Title/Citation

2. Facts

3. Issues

4. Decision(s)/Holding(s)

5. Reasoning/Rationale

6. Separate Opinions (Concurring and/or Dissenting)

7. Analysis

Reading a legal opinion for the first time can be difficult.  The textbook for HPER K511 contains a number of cases.  To date, the best “how to” guide I have come across will soon be published by Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University Law School.  It can be found at http://volokh.com/files/howtoread2007version.pdf.  I recommend that all students print off and read the guide before tackling the first reading assignment.  In addition, the guide will be invaluable when writing your case brief, as you will need to know the case inside out before beginning the oral defense portion of the assignment. 

The HPER K511 syllabus is now posted on IU’s Oncourse website. 

I spent some time today refining the syllabus for the HPER K511 course I am teaching this semester.  I expect to post it on this website Monday afternoon.  In addition, I plan on posting the syllabus on IU’s “Oncourse” website, with instructions for all students to regularly check this website for course updates and supplements.