Sports Law Links

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines so you don’t have to.  In this week’s Sports Law Links: rugby and marathons make appearances, more Penn State wrangling, a new NHL concussion suit, and the MLS labor dispute.

NCAA

• The NCAA filed its reply in the O’Bannon appeal. The full brief is here.
• Unsealed excerpts from the NCAA scholarship antitrust case.
• Conference commissioners consider freshman ineligibility.
• High school athletes decide not to sign letters of intent. Andy Staples calls it the worst contract in sports.
• Penn State will begin receiving Big Ten bowl revenue next football season. Pennsylvania state senator Jake Corman called for congressional hearings into the NCAA’s handling of Penn State sanctions. The NCAA responded to Corman.  Corman’s online document
• The economics of affording a football program: UAB and Andy Schwarz. Could UAB resurrect its program?
• Here’s the complaint from the Iowa field hockey players’ Title IX suit.
• The NCAA cannot seal documents related to a defamation lawsuit filed by former USC coach Todd McNair.
• College athlete unionization in Connecticut.
• Jerry Tarkanian liked a good fight, as the NCAA found out the hard way.

NFL

• Michael McCann on the key pieces of evidence in Day 8 of the Aaron Hernandez trial. What did the Patriots know?  Another juror has been released from the trial.  Prosecutors have granted Hernandez’s fiancée immunity.
• The NFL concussion lawsuit moves closer to a settlement.
• The NFL seeks access to Greg Hardy’s court file.
• A judge has ordered Saints owner Tom Benson to undergo a mental evaluation in the ongoing legal dispute with his former heirs.
• Over the Cap introduces “expected contract value”: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
• Howard Shatsky on the evolution of agent recruiting.
• The NFL reminded teams recently that only the league can make relocation

MLB

• A federal court will determine whether to move the minor league players’ class action wage lawsuit to Florida.
• MLB’s trademark fight over the letter “W.”
• Donald Polden considers whether the Supreme Court will hear San Jose’s antitrust suit against MLB.
• Sylvia Lind’s amended complaint against Bud Selig for employment discrimination.

NBA

• The NBPA rejected the NBA’s proposal to gradually increase the salary cap based on new broadcasting revenues.
• How Lebron’s new union leadership role could impact the NBA’s future.
• Knicks owner James Dolan will not be punished for his email lashing out at a fan.

Soccer

• The MLS labor nightmare no one is talking about.
• Kevin Carpenter on the UK’s new anti-corruption match-fixing plan.
• A new soccer arbitration court in the Cayman Islands.

Sports Betting

• The leagues strike back in the New Jersey sports betting case.
• NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL may have to address sports betting soon.
• David Stern backs Adam Silver’s stance.

Best of the Rest

• A new concussion lawsuit has been filed against the NHL. Here’s the full complaint.
• A guide to the Pechstein case that has thrown the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s authority into dispute.
• The International Paralympic Committee has released its second draft of its new classification
• Are concussion lawsuits inevitable in rugby?
• Marathons and the Fair Labor Standards Act – does the exemption for amusement and recreational establishments apply?