Tag Archives: Union

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines so you don’t have to. This week’s edition is a Deflategate omnibus – all the case documents and legal analysis surrounding Tom Brady’s suspension appeal.

Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs had a stellar spring training. Bryant should be a shoe-in for the Cubs’ major league 25-man roster come opening day, right? If you've been paying attention to any major sports news outlet, you know that's not the case. This past Monday, March 30, the Cubs reassigned Bryant to their minor league camp, meaning that the number two prospect in all of baseball will start the season in the minor leagues. Why?

Each week The Sports Esquires typically updates you on all the important headlines in the sports law world. Since our website has been under construction lately, we want to make sure you’re caught up on all the sports law developments you might have missed. Just for this week we’ll be doing a daily version of our weekly Sports Law Links to get you up to speed on anything you might have missed. Today’s links are all about the NFL’s legal issues: the Benson saga, the Hernandez trial, the Sharper plea deal, De Smith’s re-election, and more.

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines so you don’t have to. In this week’s edition: MLS CBA negotiations continue, the UNC academic scandal gets worse, and Adrian Peterson’s suspension is overturned.

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.

Each week The Sports Esquires keep track of the sports law headlines, so you don’t have to. The NFL season may be over, but the league’s sports law issues are not. Enjoy our post-Super Bowl edition of Sports Law Links.

How this appeal plays out will have a big impact on the upcoming revamped NFL Personal Conduct Policy. In fact, the appeal has already impacted how the NFL handles disciplining players for off-field misconduct. Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy were placed on the Commissioner’s Exemption List and likely told that such action does not constitute final discipline. Had the NFL done otherwise, it would be prevented from imposing further discipline in the form of fines or suspensions once the criminal cases are finalized.

Here’s the thing about the Peterson situation: the only place he’s been convicted is in the Court of Public Opinion. In its rush to serve up its own form of vigilante pseudo-justice in the wake of intense media and public scrutiny, the Vikings and the NFL seem to have forgotten one of the basic tenets of the legal system: it’s better to be right, than first.

What is the Commissioner's Exemption List? Why have you never heard of it before? Why is it being used to distance the NFL from player's accused of domestic violence?

The entire situation involving Ray Rice is extremely sad. In the last 72 hours, everyone – and I do mean everyone – has asked if the Ravens and the NFL saw TMZ’s video of the incident inside the elevator prior to its public release. That’s the wrong question. The right question is – What did the Ravens and the NFL expect to see? The way the League handled – or mishandled if you prefer – the Ray Rice situation is Exhibit A for the problems with the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Everything about the Ray Rice situation has been upsetting, but hopefully this negative can be transformed into a positive by addressing the endemic issue of domestic violence.