Sports Law Links

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines so you don’t have to.  This post-Super Bowl edition features a host of NFL legal issues, Dennis Wideman’s suspension, and more.

NFL

• The Las Vegas Raiders: John Sigety looks at whether Mark Davis’s bluff could become a reality.
• Tony Iliakostas looks at the troubled past and questionable future of Johnny Manziel. A judge has signed a protective order keeping Manziel away from his ex-girlfriend.
• Robert Raiola on how California’s jock tax will impact Super Bowl players.
• Can the NFL legally prevent advertisers from saying “Super Bowl”?
• David Kluft looks at the past year of NFL-related intellectual property litigation.
• Darren Sharper’s four-state global plea deal has fallen apart; plea negotiations have resumed.
• Conflict of interest issues arise in NFL brain research.
• Inside Peyton Manning’s investigation into the Al Jazeera documentary.
• Ongoing cheerleader wage fight underscores inequality.
• Plaxico Burress sentenced to probation for tax evasion.
• FBI grills Jeremy Shockey as part of drug and gambling ring probe.

Sports Gambling and Fantasy Sports

• Rhode Island AG declares DFS legal under state law. Here’s the full opinion.
• Will Canada shut down fantasy sports sites? Don’t bet on it.
• More information on former Cowboys running back Joseph Randle’s involvement with sports gambling.
• DraftKings to withdraw from Hawaii after the state’s AG found that DFS games are illegal.
• Indiana senate passes DFS regulatory bill.

MLB

• How the qualifying offer could be the key to sustaining MLB labor peace.
• Samuel Mann looks at the MASN dispute between the Orioles and Nationals.
• Judge rules that MLB clubs must produce documents to minor leaguers suing for wages.
• Dave Cameron looks at some of the issues MLB and the MLBPA must address in the next CBA negotiations.

Soccer

• U.S. Soccer sues the U.S. Women’s National Team union over the validity of the expired CBA. Here’s more background on the dispute.  Here’s the complaint.
• Bayern Munich and Arturo Vidal to sue Sport Bild over defamatory report.
• The MLS collective bargaining agreement is now available online.

NHL

• Sean Dotson discusses the NHL’s somewhat principled, but flawed suspension of Dennis Wideman. The NHLPA has appealed Wideman’s suspension.  Barry Petchesky argues that the NHL is afraid of Wideman’s defense.

Best of the Rest

• Anchors away: how golf quietly implemented its putting decision.
• Justin Sievert discusses the antitrust suit filed against the USOC and USATF.
• How Jonathan Isaac could challenge the NBA’s interpretation of the age eligibility rule.
• Roster management bedevils Title IX compliance.
• Real-time sports data and the First Amendment.