Sports law is an ever-evolving and expanding subset of the law, and as the recent NCAA v. Alston ruling, NIL, and Super League controversy have shown, there are far more legal roles in sports than the typical pro agent. From arbitration and player unions to compliance and contracts, a law degree can open the door to a wide range of opportunities at both the collegiate and professional level of athletics. Many law schools around the country recognize the potential of sports law and offer some opportunities in the field, while some boast full-fledged sports law programs and concentrations. However, unlike business law and health law, U.S. News & World doesn’t offer lists detailing sports law programs; this makes the law school search difficult for a prospective 1L with aspirations for a career in sports. Enter the Sports Law Program Spotlight! Although this was originally intended to be a monthly series, we will be putting these spotlights on a more frequent basis due to the popular demand by both prospective law students and law schools themselves. We will highlight a law school that offers strong opportunities in the field of sports law. These opportunities include, but are not limited to: a sports-centric curriculum; sports law certifications; unique legal internship opportunities within the sports market; and sports law journals The focus of this Sports Law Program Spotlight is… University of Georgia School of Law Currently home to the top ranked football team in the nation, it’s a great time to be on campus at the University of Georgia. Located in Athens, you’ll be welcomed with “Southern Hospitality” if you ever visit one of the more charming college towns in America. In addition, the University carries high academic prestige and the UGA School of Law ranks as one of the best law schools in the South by US News & World. But to learn more about the intersection between sports and the law at UGA, I reached out to Jake Gordon, a current student. Here is an overview of what the University of Georgia School of Law offers to students with passion and interest in the field of sports law. If you’re a prospective student interested in the field of sports law, the curriculum and degree offerings at UGA Law might be for you. To start off, there is a dedicated course to sports law taught by John Cooper, who is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for IMG. The course offers a lot of out-of-class experiences, such as adjunct classes with Deputy General Counsel Jonathan Smith of the Atlanta Braves and Scott Wilkinson, Chief Legal Officer for the Atlanta Hawks. Special guests including Greg Heller, the Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of the Braves and Brandon James, the Deputy General Counsel for the San Antonio Spurs have all spoken to the course of late. In addition, multiple intellectual property classes weave sport law into the curriculum. If you’re deciding between getting a JD or a Master’s in Sports Management, UGA offers a dual JD/Masters in Sport Management Degree available through the Law School, as well as other Master’s Sport Law Classes that can satisfy a JD without getting a Master’s Degree. This dual degree gives the theoretical and practical background to pursue career opportunities as a lawyer concentrating on sports issues. Most UGA Law students interested in sports are involved in the Sport and Entertainment Law Society. The society is a student-run organization with a mission to create opportunities for UGA Law students who may be interested in pursuing a career in the sports and entertainment law industries. It ​​strives to expose students to the unique and illustrious industries via conferences, round-table discussions, and various networking events. The Negotiation Team participates in multiple mock Sport Contract Negotiations across the country. Many students showcase their sports law knowledge in law journals offered by UGA Law. A lot of students, Jake included, use the Journal of Intellectual Property to write about issues in Sport Law. Jake recently wrote about Federal NIL Legislation for College and High School Athletes. Most importantly, UGA Law works hard to put their students in the best position to achieve their career goals. Academic Advisors set up meetings with alumni who have had amazing careers in Sport Law. Jake’s advisor recently put him in touch with the aforementioned Brandon James and NFL Agent Trevon Smith. In addition, for those interested in working in college athletics. UGA has a corporate counsel externship that allows students to get practical work experience with the UGA Athletic Department. In summary, the University of Georgia School of Law offers a great experience for prospective law students interested in sports law. About a 90-minute drive from Atlanta, one of the best sports cities in the country, the opportunity is there to make great connections with professionals in the sports law community. The combination of the curriculum, degree offerings, professors, guest speakers, advisors, and internship/externship opportunities provide everything a prospective sports law student could ask for. Future sports lawyers should definitely add UGA to their list of schools. Big Thanks to Jake Gordon for the great information about UGA Law. You can follow him at @cantguardjake on Twitter and check out his work at @SportsTalkATL if you’re an Atlanta sports fan!

For months, there have been rumors about a potential relocation of the Buffalo Bills to Austin, Texas. An ownership source in the NFL told ESPN’s Seth Wickersham that Austin is a city that “desire[s] an NFL franchise and would pay handsomely for it.” Economically, it makes sense for Austin to have its own team. It was the 13th fastest growing city in the U.S. last year and its population grew 33.7% from 2010-2020. Conversely, Buffalo ranked 9th on the fastest shrinking cities list in 2020. The Bills, however, are a religion in Western New York and a massive driving force behind the region’s social and economic culture. Although team owners have significant flexibility in the management of their organizations, there is one step that New York can take to help stall a potential move. After the Browns move to Baltimore in 1996, Ohio enacted the “Art Modell Law” named after the infamous team owner. The law, RC 9.67, is titled “Restrictions on owner of professional sports team that uses a tax-supported facility.” Under the law, professional sports teams that plays their home games in tax-supported stadiums and receive financial assistance from Ohio cannot move to a new location without either: entering into an agreement with the political subdivision where the tax-supported stadium is located permitting the franchise to relocate (consent of the hometown); or giving six-months’ notice of the intention to move, and, during the six months after the notice, giving local individuals or groups the opportunity to purchase the team. Although the law is not an absolute bar to relocation, it can empower local communities in their negotiations with professional franchises and has proven effective in recent history. In 2017, the owner of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, Anthony Precourt, announced that he wanted to move the team to – coincidentally – Austin, Texas. At the time, the Crew played their home games at MAPFRE stadium, which sat on tax-exempt state land. In response, Ohio Attorney General – and now Governor – Mike DeWine, filed a lawsuit against the franchise invoking the Art Modell Law. Attorneys for Precourt and MLS filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that application of the law would be an unconstitutional interference with their right to conduct business in interstate commerce. Some legal scholars agreed, noting that the federal government, not states, has the right to regulate national businesses like sports leagues. However, an Ohio judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit, and it withstood several legal challenges before being voluntarily dismissed after an announcement that an investor group led by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Columbus-based physician Dr. Pete Edwards would be buying the team. In this case, the law proved to be at a minimum a strong negotiating chip for the city. Such a law would apply to Highmark Stadium, home of the Bills, since it is owned by Erie County. The most recent round of renovations at the stadium also included $130 million in taxpayer money. Additionally, the Bills owners, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, raised eyebrows when they submitted a $1.5 billion proposal for a new fully taxpayer-funded stadium. Local officials have called that proposal a “non-starter” while Bills co-owner Kim Pegula has previously stated that they “don’t have a billion-and-a-half dollars sitting around.” Passing a New York-version of the Art Modell Law prior to negotiations playing out would be a heavy-handed approach by state and local officials. However, so is a proposal for a 100% taxpayer-funded stadium. Nevertheless, a Bills relocation would be socially and economically catastrophic to Western New York. It is estimated that a new stadium would generate $793 million annually for Erie County over the next 30 years. Additionally, the Bills have a $360 million annual impact in Buffalo and $380 million across New York. Finally, the Bills currently account for 2,200+ jobs in the region and construction of a new stadium could triple that number. Local officials should do everything they can to keep the team in Buffalo, and if New York does not pass its own version of the Art Modell Law before a new stadium deal, they should certainly consider passing one afterwards to ensure that the franchise remains in Western New York for the long haul. If they do, I wouldn’t put it past Bills Mafia to celebrate by jumping through tables outside of the Governor’s Mansion in Albany. John Nucci can be found on Twitter @JNucci23.

Lucas Hernandez’s four-year, ongoing legal saga, involving a domestic dispute with his wife, Ms. Llorente has temporarily come to a screeching halt with the announcement of Hernandez receiving only a suspended sentence.[1] To briefly reiterate the context of the matter, in 2017, Hernandez and Llorente engaged in a mutual physical confrontation, leading to the Spanish courts issuing dual restraining orders against each party.[2] Following the altercation, the duo sought to remedy their damaged relationship by getting married and taking a honeymoon together, thus violating the terms of the restraining order.[3] However, only Hernandez knew of the order and subsequently only he was punished.[4] Yet, by the time the Spanish court flirted with imposing a potential prison sentence of up to one-year upon Hernandez, he had already completed his transfer from Spanish side, Atletico Madrid, to the German Bundesliga squad, Bayern Munich.[5] Nonetheless, just last month, the Spanish court system opted to put out an arrest warrant for Hernandez in order to extradite him to Spain to suffer the consequences of his actions.[6] That is where we left off last time.[7] On October 27, Hernandez had his appeal upheld in order to avoid serving prison time.[8] Despite the good news for Hernandez, the suspended sentence will last for four years, and any violation committed by Hernandez within that time frame will trigger an automatic extradition to Spain to serve all six months.[9] For now, rather than sleeping within the confines of an 8x11 prison cell, Hernandez will be cozying up each night in his own home, resting up before resuming work the following day with his Bayern teammates.[10] As a result of Hernandez’s temporary relinquishment from the Spanish legal system, Bayern can now expand their horizons in the upcoming winter transfer market rather than looking for depth at left-back. Though Bayern is one of few teams with little room for improvement, one area they may want to address is the right-back position. Bayern may, in typical fashion, look to swoop up a youth superstar from another Bundesliga league team; perhaps Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen.[11] Or, on the other hand, Bayern may look for an instant impact player such as Juventus’s Mattias De Sciglio, who can play wing-back on either side of the field, just in case Bayern still want an insurance policy for a potential Hernandez slip up.[12] Nevertheless, any hope held out by other clubs around the world that the Hernandez saga might set back Bayern a step has certainly been terminated. [1] Adriana Garcia, Bayern Munich’s Lucas Hernandez avoids jail time for disobeying restraining order, ESPN (Oct. 27, 2021 4:36AM), https://www.espn.com/soccer/bayern-munich-gerbayern_munich/story/4506755/bayern-munichs-lucas-hernandez-avoids-jail-time-for-disobeying-restraining-order; see Michael Millstein, Lucas Hernandez: Bayern Defender Back in Madrid But for the Wrong Reasons, Conduct Detrimental (Oct. 14, 2021), https://www.conductdetrimental.com/post/lucas-hernandez-bayern-defender-back-in-madrid-but-for-the-wrong-reasons (highlighting the legal complexities and storyline regarding previous context to the Hernandez legal saga). [2] Sergio Fernandez et al., Lucas Hernandez Could Go To Prison, MARCA (Oct. 13, 2021 6:48PM), https://www.marca.com/en/football/bayern-munich/2021/10/13/61670627ca47419f308b4567.html. [3] Id. [4] Bayern’s Lucas Hernandez Sentenced To Six Months In Prison After Disobeying Restraining Order, ESPN (Oct. 13, 2021 11:28AM), https://www.espn.com/soccer/bayern-munich-gerbayern_munich/story/4496829/bayerns-lucas-hernandez-sentenced-to-six-months-in-prison-after-disobeying-restraining-order. [5] See FC Bayern Sign Lucas Hernandez, FCBayern (Mar. 27, 2019 5:10PM), https://fcbayern.com/us/news/2019/03/fc-bayern-sign-lucas-hernandez-from-atletico-madrid (announcing Hernandez’s signing with Bayern for a then club and Bundesliga record, £80M). [6] Fernandez, supra note 2. [7] See Millstein, supra note 1 (detailing the latest in the Hernandez legal proceedings up through October 13 when the last major event occurred prior to the suspended sentence). [8] The Athletic Staff, Bayern’s Lucas Hernandez has prison sentence suspended after successful appeal, The Athletic (Oct. 27, 2021 7:39AM), https://theathletic.com/news/bayerns-lucas-hernandez-has-prison-sentence-suspended-after-successful-appeal/sfoFZMmLA9oV//. [9] Id. [10] Id. [11] See Jeremie Frimpong: ‘I Was Shocked,’ Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Mar. 2, 2021), https://www.bayer04.de/en-us/news/bayer04/jeremie-frimpong-i-was-shocked (exploring Jeremie Frimpong’s transfer to Bayer Leverkusen last year). [12] The reason Juventus keeping DE Sciglio has been revealed, Juventus FC (Aug. 22, 2021 11:45AM), https://www.juvefc.com/the-reason-juventus-keeping-de-sciglio-has-been-revealed/ (detailing the uncertainty surrounding De Sciglio’s future with Juventus despite the club opting not to sell him during the summer transfer window).

Knicks center Nerlens Noel sued Klutch Sports Group and ex-agent Rich Paul in early August of this year for lost earnings of up to $58 million and not fulfilling his duties as an agent. Now, Rich Paul answered back by filing a motion to dismiss in Texas Northern District Federal Court. Paul is arguing that the dispute should go to arbitration by the National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) and that Noel has not paid him for negotiating his Knicks contract last season. Paul filed a grievance against Noel with the NBPA in August regarding the pay dispute, according to the motion to dismiss. "Despite multiple written requests for payment, to date, Noel has failed to pay Paul any amount resulting from the Knicks,” the motion states. Noel has also filed his own arbitration case against Paul for “breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, negligence and gross negligence, and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.” The case is now pending by NBPA arbitrator and retired Judge Richard Levie. According to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), “The NBA and the Players Association shall agree upon a System Arbitrator, who shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine any and all disputes arising under Articles I, II, VII (definitions, uniform player contract, basketball related income, salary cap, minimum team salary, and escrow arrangement).” Luckily for both parties this arbitration will be heard relatively soon. “In no event shall the award and written opinion be issued more than thirty (30) days following the date upon which the record of a System Arbitration proceeding is closed.” As I said in my first article, this could be a challenging case. It could go either way based on all the facts. If Paul deserves to be paid and has not been paid then Noel is in the wrong. Agents cannot be getting sued all the time because they told their player that the most money might not be the best option for them. In that case too much of the burden will be on the agents and they will make their players sign any contract instead of what the player wants. This will create open game for players to sue their agents if they sign a lesser contract. On the other hand, by not answering calls that could have helped Noel’s career Paul is negligent. Paul’s duty was to help Noel to the best of his ability. If shown that he did not help Noel then he would breach his duty of care to him. The NBA does not want agents slowing down free agency by not answering calls, or even focusing more on their high-end clients instead of their other players. With the new CBA looming agents do not want the NBA to restrict the number of clients they have if some cannot handle multiple clients. When more information comes out it will be very interesting to see what Judge Levie’s decision is.

By ruling against the NCAA in Nat’l. Collegiate Athletic Assoc. v. Alston et al., The Supreme Court effectively opened the flood gates to a litany of name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) deals for college athletes.[1] In spite of the public’s perception that such this ruling, promoting college athletes’ ability to profit from their popularity exuding from their on-field excellence, provides only positives, the public may be wrong. Since the Jurgen Klinsmann era of United States soccer, fans and coaches alike have exceedingly pushed young Americans to pursue the club soccer route rather than the NCAA route.[2] The purpose behind the movement is simple; our players will improve more at the club level, competing against high-level international competition, than they will by competing at the NCAA level where there is inarguably inferior coaching and competition.[3] Evidently, looking at the recent successes of US internationals, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKinnie, Sergiño Dest, and others, the push for pursuing the club soccer route is the proper direction to push these players in.[4] However, the new NIL deals threaten this recent success by providing young American soccer players with incentives to reverse course and return to the NCAA.[5] To play against the best competition, players aim to sign for a club in one of Europe’s top tier leagues: England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, or Germany’s Bundesliga.[6] Therefore, unless they become one of the faces of American soccer, like Christian Pulisic, their ability to obtain a sponsorship deal from an American company, while playing soccer abroad in a foreign country, is relatively limited.[7] Furthermore, the lack of popularity soccer has in America does not help out either.[8] Therefore, if it is more financially rewarding for a soccer player to obtain an NIL deal in college sports than it is to sign a low level contract for a club team, US soccer will find itself at risk of its golden generation stagnating.[9] The key elements in predicting the outcome and trajectory of this consist of comparing the average lucrativeness of an NIL deal versus a low level club soccer contract, as well as the likelihood of receiving such a deal as a soccer player in America. In the kingdom of college sports, college football reigns supreme both in popularity, and subsequently in amount of NIL deals.[10] Currently, an astounding 60.1% of all NIL deals belong to college football players, with women’s volleyball in second place at just 9.8%.[11] This stems from companies who provide NIL deals primarily seeking out athletes with the greatest reach and popularity, typically measured via social media followers.[12] Reportedly 47.8% of the total compensation for NIL deals “is awarded for posting content on social media . . . .”[13] Though athletes at the pinnacle of college sports, such as Heisman Trophy contenders, have landed bombastically financed deals, the average deal for a typical division 1 athlete is $471.[14] Yet, it is important to consider that payout is per post, whereas the average deal won’t cap until a payout of over $200,000 has been delivered.[15] For comparison purposes, current FC Dallas striker, and American international, Ricardo Pepi’s base salary is $200,000.[16] With Pepi lined up as the starting American striker for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to imagine Pepi, with such popularity, wouldn’t have landed an NIL deal usually reserved for a Heisman Trophy winner; effectively out-earning his current salary by perhaps five-fold. At its core, the lack of popularity the sport has in America is the lone argument that NIL deals do not pose a massive threat to the growth of US soccer.[17] A recent study, premised upon viewership, concluded that soccer is the 5th most popular sport in America; trailing football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey.[18] By that token, “[w]hile the gates are open, there has not been a flood of interest for soccer players” for NIL deal purposes.[19] However, soccer’s popularity is nevertheless growing rapidly in America; potentially soaring to new heights when the United States host’s the FIFA World Cup in 2026.[20] What happens then? Many agree that NIL deals are long overdue, as college athletes should have the right to profit from their diligence in sports. But, like nearly all good things, these deals do not come without a catch — stunting the improvement of US soccer. As soccer continues to grow in popularity, athletes may very well soon find themselves able to pick and choose between the lucrative college route, or the skill improvement club route. That decision is rightfully theirs to make. Yet, that does not mean that fans alike will not feel their hearts in their chests when the next Christian Pulisic prepares to make such a decision. [1] Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Assoc. v. Alston et al., 594 U.S. __ (2021). [2] Tisha Thompson, Is college soccer too much of a risk for rising U.S. talent?, ESPN (Mar. 22, 2018), https://www.espn.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/22869596/2018-world-cup-college-soccer-too-much-risk-rising-us-talent. [3] Id. [4] Id. [5] See Kristi Dosh, Santa Clara Women’s Soccer Team All Get NIL Deals with ChiliSleep, Business College Sports (Oct. 22, 2021), https://businessofcollegesports.com/name-image-likeness/santa-clara-womens-soccer-team-all-get-nil-deals-with-chilisleep/ (noting how an entire college soccer team all got. NIL deals set to pay them well). [6] Allan Jiang, World Football Power Ranking: The Top 30 Leagues in Europe, Bleacher Report (Aug. 2, 2011), https://bleacherreport.com/articles/786046-power-ranking-the-top-30-leagues-in-europe. [7] See Under Armour, Trent Alexander-Arnold – The Only Way Is Through, YouTube (June 25, 2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvGQLZZPTNQ&ab_channel=UnderArmour (Demonstrating the lack of deals for American athletes through Under Armour, an American clothing line, opting to place English international Trent Alexander-Arnold in its commercials instead of any US soccer player). [8] Spenser T. Harrison, Top Ten Reasons Soccer Isn’t Popular in the United States, Bleacher Report (May 5, 2008), https://bleacherreport.com/articles/21488-top-ten-reasons-soccer-isnt-popular-in-the-united-states. [9] Bill Connelly, USMNT golden generation? Why Pulisic, Reyna & Co. are on course to make a run at 2022 World Cup, ESPN (Dec. 8, 2020), https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usa/story/4256235/usmnt-golden-generation-why-pulisicreyna-and-co-are-on-course-to-make-a-run-at-2022-world-cup. [10] Maria Carrasco, Some College Athletes Cash In While Others Lose Out, Inside Higher Ed (Oct. 12, 2021), https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/10/12/while-some-ncaa-athletes-cash-nil-others-lose-out#:~:text=Opendorse%2C%20a%20sports%20technology%20company,second%20place%20at%209.8%20percent; Sourav, Top 10 Most Popular College Sports In The World, Sports Show (Aug. 18, 2021), https://sportsshow.net/most-popular-college-sports/. [11] Carrasco, supra note 10. [12] Id. [13] Id. [14] Spenser Davis, July dats shows value of average NIL deal, Saturdays Down South (July 2020), https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/july-data-shows-value-of-average-nil-deal/. [15] Id. [16] Updated 2021 FC Dallas player salaries, FC Dallas (2021), https://www.bigdsoccer.com/2021/10/20/22736719/updated-2021-fall-fc-dallas-player-salaries. [17] Harrison, supra note 8. [18] Sourav, Top 10 Most Popular Sports In America In 2021 | Viewership And TV Ratings, Sports Show (Oct. 19, 2021), https://sportsshow.net/most-popular-sports-in-america/. [19] Harrison, supra note 8. [20] See FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA (Oct. 14, 2021), https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026 (alluding to the American host cities for the 2026 World Cup).

High school phenom Mikey Williams signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Puma, which makes him the youngest athlete to sign with the brand. The crazy thing is that he is only 17 years old, has not played a collegiate basketball game, still has two more years until he is draft eligible, and is only a junior in high school. Williams is a 6'2'' guard playing for Vertical Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina. Right now, he is listed as #11 overall on ESPN Top 60 for class of 2023. This summer, he signed with Excel Sports Management when the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) legislation went into effect. A huge factor that led Williams to get a deal with Puma is the fact that he has more than 3.3 million followers on Instagram. By now, there is no surprise that celebrities, top athletes, and even top college athletes make a lot of money on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Now it is time for top high school athletes to get a piece of the action as well. It is tremendous to see Williams as a trailblazer for all high school athletes. Most importantly, if high school athletes have some money before college, then the recruiting process and AAU circuit will be a lot cleaner. Various colleges around the country are notorious for paying the best high school talent to come to their school, and many times AAU coaches get kickbacks as well. Both processes are sadly corrupt, but the recruiting process would drastically improve if money is not a factor. This makes a lot of sense for Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour as well because they are already sponsoring many camps and tournaments. Brands can have more tournaments and camps specifically for their players signed as well as have other camps for players trying to get scholarships. In the summer, there are high level camps and tournaments every week. High school athletes barely get a break where they must travel throughout the country to get looks at camps from every brand. Instead, they could get more rest and just go to the camps that their brand is sponsoring. In addition, more unknown players have a better chance of getting scouted. Talking directly to the players is more beneficial instead of having their AAU coach be the middleman giving money to their AAU coaches. Players do not have to put their entire future on a sketchy AAU coach that is receiving the player’s money. The process is way more favorable when players have more control of their future when receiving money. After high school athletes see this, they will spend more time focusing on their brand on social media platforms. More companies will emerge like Overtime and Hoopmixtape where they will film highlights of players and send them across social media platforms hoping they go viral. This is key because the more views, likes, subscribers, and followers that high school athletes can get, the more likely they will receive a deal with a major company. Then the company that either has a large presence on social media like Overtime or the emerging companies that can market well will benefit by all the views of their videos as well. There will be even more of an explosion of highlights and highlight tapes which will be very beneficial for the game overall. On the other hand, to get views players will be more focused on insane dunks, shots from half court, and ball handling tricks instead of the fundamentals. Everyone online want to see the crazy dunks or people get crossed up, but, the fundamentals are what make players great. Most high schoolers right now do not have the fundamentals perfected where they can be focusing more of their energy on aspects of the game that they are not ready for. Players will think this is the way they have to play to standout, and many will constantly try to have the best videos. The reason why Steph Curry can shoot from half court with ease is because he has mastered his shooting form from closer distances. These aspects of the game could be very frustrating for high school, AAU, and college coaches until it is normalized. In the short-term coaches will have to stress to their players that the way they play is more beneficial for additional deals than a couple of highlight reels. Now with money involved, the game of basketball will most likely change. Change is always exciting and great for any sport. In the next 10 years, the game could be even faster and a true position less league. There is already a taste of this with Ben Simmons and Luka Doncic who are big guys with guard abilities. When the emphasis is on ball handling and deeper 3s then eventually more and more players will do this. This has been happening over the last couple of years where the post-game for big men is almost nonexistent. In the future, I believe the game will be even more spread out with every player as a 3-point threat. With offenses spread out closer to half court teams will have extremely fast flowing offenses where every player will have more space to work with. At this point teams would have to change to different half court zone defenses or devout more attention to one-on-one defense. These deals could make the future for the NBA even brighter where there are more skilled players. Similar to college, the families of high school athletes will benefit from NIL deals as well. Traveling all over the country for various camps and AAU tournaments is expensive and this money could truly help. There are always players that have exciting highlight tapes but never make it to the NBA. For example, Aquille Carr had some of the most insane highlight tapes that took over the internet ten years ago. His Hoopmixtape video on YouTube has almost 10 million views. Unfortunately, he did not make it in the NBA and had a short stint in NBA G-League. Even if players like Carr get a little bit of money and do not make it to the NBA at least they get something for all their hard work. Chris D'Avanzo is a 2L at Hofstra Law. He can be followed on Twitter @_chrisdavanzo.

I am a huge fan of hockey, and in particular, of the Rangers. I’ve watched the team since the days of Lundqvist who has since retired and stuck with the team by joining their TV family. Now I’m glued to the screen watching Panarin and Zibanejad scoring goal after goal. Odds are, if you clicked on this article, you’re a big fan of the sport as well. If this is the case, I am sure you’ve shared in the same disappointed feeling as myself and the rest of the NHL fan base over the last 20 months. The frequency and caliber of controversies attached to the NHL organization seem to be endless. The most frustrating part is that many of these controversies were avoidable had the NHL been proactive. There is heightened duty for individuals and organizations that find themselves in highly influential positions. Simply put, the hope is that they utilize their platforms for good, and to spread good. This has been seen in the NBA’s handling of Black Lives Matter (8), by the National Women’s Soccer League halting play to bring awareness to sexual assault (1), and even by the MLB’s efforts to stand for general equality by broadcasting games hosted solely by women (7). On the outskirts sits the NHL, lacking any notoriety for leading the social pack and frankly, it’s embarrassing. (1) NHL and Civil Rights The NHL was initially hesitant to say the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and instead relied heavily on printing “#WeSkateForTheCup, #WeStakeForBetterDays, #WeSkateForBlackLives” and, “End Racism”. Do these phrases still carry a powerful message on their own? Of course. But there was an undeniable fear of saying “Black Lives Matter”. It was nowhere in the arena during the return to the bubble for the Stanley Cup in 2020 until the NHL final showed a promotional video highlighting the social circumstances over the past few months. The video audio played the follow; “three words we need to get comfortable saying: Black Lives Matter.” The catch – the NHL did not make the video, NBC did (2). Following this, it was the Hockey Diversity Alliance that had to ask the NHL to suspend playoff games in August of 2020 in solidarity with the movement (3). This was following the actions other leagues like the NBA who had already quickly made the choice to suspend gameplay. It seems the NHL made many calculated choices in their handling of the BLM movement in an attempt to remain neutral, resulting in a lot more following than leading. (2) NHL and Sexual Assault The NHL has recently made headlines recently due to their mishandling of sexual assault allegations. Kyle Beach came forward, for the second time, after a decade of silence following his initial report of sexual assault with the threat of violence against then film coach Brad Aldrich. The wrongful holdup behind anything being done about these reports was that at the time, the Blackhawks were in the running for the Stanley Cup. After winning, Beach sat waiting for disciplinary action by the Blackhawks against Aldrich. Fast forward a decade, and still nothing had been done in pursuance of these allegations. Kyle Beach officially filed his 2021 lawsuit against the Blackhawks coverup of the allegations in 2010, and now the NHL admits knowledge of the allegations for over four months prior to the official filing (4). The NHL took the word of Blackhawks Management over Kyle Beach who stated that the allegations against them “had no merit”, so the NHL did nothing. Commissioner Bettman stated in a conference, “I’m not sure there’s anything we could’ve done differently or faster, based on the knowledge that we had.” (4). I don’t know Bettman, maybe as a commissioner of the league, do a little investigating of your own rather than blinding trusting the team being accused for hiding sexual assault allegations for over a decade? Just a thought. (3) NHL and Gender Equality Did you know that the National Women’s Hockey League is in the middle of trademark and copyright processes to change their name to the Premiere Hockey Federation (PHF)? (5). If not, do not feel too bad, especially if your chosen source of hockey news is the NHL Instagram account. On September 7th, 2021, the organization formally known as the National Women’s Hockey League took a stand for gender equality in sports and removed the word ‘women’ from their name to squash the appearance of being just the women’s version of the NHL, a subgroup to real hockey. I went all the way back on the NHL’s Instagram to early September, 2021, and did not find a single post regarding this huge trademark decision by their hockey counterpart. The lack of support shown by the NHL to women in hockey is egregious and disappointing. Their complete disregard of women in the game does not end there. It is felt not only on the ice through their silence regarding PHF, but in their own staffing at the NHL. For this, I will let the numbers speak for themselves. See below for the 2019 staffing gender data for the NHL. Image via the Athletic On average, there are 46.6 people working in each team’s hockey operations, two of those are women, making the average hockey operations department 96 percent male (6). Are we sure this reflects an organization that follows equal opportunity hiring laws? This is not some town run coed softball league where you need at least two girls on the field at any time to play. This is a multimillion-dollar organization repeatedly and substantially staffing men more than women. Although I am giving a major metaphorical thumbs down to the NHL with this piece, I have hope and I am still a huge fan of the sport. I am a fan of all it can do for a city, for a young person searching for a meaningful and challenging activity, and for a person like myself who finally found a sport the entire family will actually sit and watch together, start to finish. The NHL is lucky enough to be the organization representing one of the toughest and most entertaining sports in the world. Going forward into 2022, the NHL must improve and grow drastically – clean it the puck up NHL. (1) https://mashable.com/article/nwsl-sexual-assault-stop-play (2) https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/08/nhl-so-afraid-of-saying-black-lives-matter (3) https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2020/8/27/21404439/nhl-players-postpone-games-august-27-follow-nba-lead (4) https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2021/11/1/22757933/blackhawks-sexual-assault-scandal-gary-bettman-bill-daly-knew-december-2020-kyle-beach (5) https://www.premierhockeyfederation.com/news/nwhl-rebrands-as-premier-hockey-federation (6) https://theathletic.com/1318856/2019/11/05/measuring-gender-diversity-in-hockey-operations-departments-throughout-the-nhl/ (7) https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/09/21/espn-female-mlb-broadcast-melanie-newman-jess-mendoza/5801401001/ (8) https://theundefeated.com/features/how-the-nba-social-justice-efforts-dominated-the-season/

After ascending to a player recognized amongst the soccer world as world-class, in 2019 Lucas Hernandez said goodbye to his former club, Atletico Madrid (“Atleti”), after 6 seasons and joined the German giants, Bayern Munich.[1] Despite leaving Madrid in the rearview mirror, Madrid did not forget Lucas Hernandez, or more so his troubling actions. While still starring at left-back for Atleti in 2017, Hernandez and then fiancée, Amelia Ossa Llorente engaged in a heated confrontation which led to Ms. Llorente’s subsequent hospitalization to treat minor injuries.[2] Despite not pressing charges herself, due to the extent of the injuries suffered, the Spanish government successfully convicted Hernandez on charges of domestic violence.[3] In spite of serving 31 days of “community service for violence, assault, and damage to property,” Hernandez could not stay away, as he received a six-month suspended sentence in 2019 for breaking the restraining order.[4] Hernandez and Llorente got married shortly after the incident and took a honeymoon, upon which Hernandez evidently broke the restriction ordering him to remain 500 meters away from Llorente. With punishment looming, perhaps this helped inspire Hernandez’s move to Bayern.[5] Nevertheless, Hernandez was not able to outrun neither the law nor his reprehensible actions, as “the 32nd Criminal Court in Madrid ordered the imprisonment of . . . Hernandez.”[6] Despite the reported reconciliation between Hernandez and Llorente, the Spanish court seeks to hold Hernandez accountable for his violation of the restraining order to the fullest extent.[7] Under the Spanish legal system, a restraining order prevents the accused from going within a certain distance of the alleged victim, including the alleged victim’s house, place of work, or locations where he/she regularly frequents.[8] Such an order, therefore, bars face-to-face communication, which Hernandez violated by taking Llorente on a honeymoon after the assault.[9] A violation of the order is regarded as a criminal offense for which the punishment is a prison sentence; a legal standard from which the Spanish court does not intend to depart for the sake of Hernandez’s playing career.[10] Although Bayern will not fret securing their decade of dominance with a 10th straight Bundesliga title, the club no doubt has its sights set on the greatest prize club soccer has to offer ­– the UEFA Champions League. After lifting the trophy in 2019, Hernandez’s first year with the squad, he has emerged as a crucial member of the team. In spite of the dread surrounding potentially losing Hernandez for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, Bayern will not worry much, as they have one of the world’s premier defensive players, Canadian international Alphonso Davies, ready and able to go. However, Davies will no doubt need another left-back to help fill Hernandez’s shoes. The man for the job at the moment is English international, Omar Richards. Though Richards is a promising prospect, he has only played two games for Bayern, and so the club may wish to bring in another player in the winter transfer window if Richards performs poorly. Yet, for now, Bayern will surely cling to every bit of hope that Hernandez will somehow find a way out of this. One thing is for sure though, Hernandez’s homecoming to Madrid is certainly not the one he anticipated. [1] FC Bayern Sign Lucas Hernandez, FCBayern (Mar. 27, 2019 5:10PM), https://fcbayern.com/us/news/2019/03/fc-bayern-sign-lucas-hernandez-from-atletico-madrid. [2] Sergio Fernandez et al., Lucas Hernandez Could Go To Prison, MARCA (Oct. 13, 2021 6:48PM), https://www.marca.com/en/football/bayern-munich/2021/10/13/61670627ca47419f308b4567.html. [3] Id. [4] Id. [5] Bayern’s Lucas Hernandez Sentenced To Six Months In Prison After Disobeying Restraining Order, ESPN (Oct. 13, 2021 11:28AM), https://www.espn.com/soccer/bayern-munich-gerbayern_munich/story/4496829/bayerns-lucas-hernandez-sentenced-to-six-months-in-prison-after-disobeying-restraining-order. [6] CSmith1919, Breaking: Bayern Munich’s Lucas Hernandez “Summoned For Prison Sentence,” SBNation (Oct. 13, 2021 4:30PM), https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2021/10/13/22724253/bayern-munich-lucas-hernandez-summoned-for-prison-sentence-spain-pavard-sule-upamecano-davies. [7] Id. [8] Restraining Order, Piñera del Olmo (2021), https://www.pineradelolmo.com/restraining-order/. [9] Id. [10] Id.

Introduction to Alex Verdugo: The Boston Red Sox were officially eliminated from the playoffs last week, and now the work begins for the Sox’s front office to build another contender for the 2022 season. One of the organization’s building blocks, Alex Verdugo - the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade in 2020 - is eligible for a raise as a first time arbitration-eligible player. While it may be keen for both the organization and Verdugo to negotiate a long term extension that buys out his arbitration years, this article will provide analysis on what would happen if no deal can be reached and Verdugo proceeds to arbitration this offseason. Player Representative Summary of Arbitration Profile: Verdugo’s reps will try to build on the narrative that Verdugo is: consistently productive with a high floor, solid defensively throughout his career, and one of the best hitters on the Red Sox since being traded to Boston. Verdugo’s reps will spend a lot of time analyzing and framing his elite 2020 season, where he ranked in the top 15 in the American League in 2B, R, H, AVG, OBP, DRS, and rWAR.[1] Although there were no All-Star honors awarded for the season, Verdugo likely would have made the team, given that through the first half of the season Verdugo ranked in the top 6 among AL outfielders in AVG, OBP, and WAR.[2] Verdugo also finished 12th in AL MVP voting.[3] Verdugo’s reps may opine that those who placed down-ballot MVP votes for Verdugo may have been swayed by his stellar defense: he led all AL outfielders in assists and finished in the top 6 in the AL in both DRS and UZR.[4] Verdugo has been a consistent performer since becoming an every-day player - he is one of only four players in all of baseball to hit for an AVG above .285 and maintain an OBP above .340 in each of the past three seasons, along with Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts.[5] Verdugo has also been a key cog in the Red Sox’s offense since getting acquired, when he ranked top 5 on the club in G, R, H, SB, OBP, DRS, WS, and WAR.[6] In his platform season, Verdugo ranked top 5 on the club in G, R, H, SB, and fWAR, consistently batting at the top of the lineup for a team that rode its potent offense to the ALCS.[7] Red Sox Summary of Arbitration Profile: The Red Sox will push a different narrative: that Verdugo has never been elite, doesn’t play above-average defense, and that he is merely a cog in the club’s strong offense. The Red Sox will highlight Verdugo’s shortcomings when it comes to counting statistics and elite production. In his career, Verdugo has never recorded a season with 15+ home runs, 90+ runs, or 65+ RBIs.[8] Even in his best offensive season in 2020, Verdugo’s wRC+ was 126, meaning that he was only 26% better than an average hitter, not elite.[9] Verdugo has no all-star appearances and has not even been a finalist for any awards (ie. Silver Slugger or Gold Glove). The fact that Verdugo led the AL in outfield assists but wasn’t nominated as a Gold-Glove finalist may suggest that the Green Monster at Fenway provided an unequal amount of opportunities to record assists, or that assists aren’t the best way to evaluate an outfielder’s defensive performance. In the platform season, Verdugo only recorded 1 DRS and a negative UZR, which indicates that his defense was average at best.[10] That season, Verdugo’s UZR/150 was solid in RF (9.2), but below average in LF (-4.3) and untenable in CF (-14.1).[11] The Red Sox will contrast how strong their lineup was and spotlight where Verdugo actually ranked on the team in key offensive categories. In his two full seasons with the Red Sox, Verdugo ranked outside of the top 5 on the club in HR, RBI, SLG, and wRC+, despite tallying the 4th most plate appearances.[12] There were other key players that carried the Red Sox lineup in the platform season; Xander Bogaerts (4.9), Kike Hernandez (4.9), Rafael Devers (3.5), J.D. Martinez (3.0), and Hunter Renfroe (2.4) all surpassed Verdugo (2.2) in rWAR.[13] The Red Sox had a potent offense that ranked in the top 5 in MLB in R, RBI, AVG, and SLG. Player Comparisons: One of the most important factors to determine a Player’s arbitration award, as dictated by the MLB CBA, is “comparative baseball salaries.”[14] The market range for Verdugo is displayed in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows platform season performance for Verdugo’s market range. The two Player-side comps are listed in green, the two Team-side comps are listed in red, and the two midpoint-dependent comps are in orange. Figure 3 displays performance from the platform season in addition to the season prior to the platform season, and Figure 4 lists career statistics. The following are projected ranges of filing numbers. It’s important to note that both Verdugo’s Reps and the Red Sox will strategically file at numbers which they believe will place Charlie Blackmon ($3.5M) and Joe Panik ($3.45M) on their side of the midpoint. - Player Filing Range: $3.6M - $4M - Team Filing Range: $3M - $3.4M - Midpoint Range: $3.3M - $3.7M Verdugo Representatives’ Comparisons: Eddie Rosario - $4,190,000 Tommy Pham - $4,100,000 Eddie Rosario will be the most important comparable player for Verdugo’s reps, given his similarity in both platform and career statistics, as well as his $4.19M arbitration award. Rosario is a slightly different type of player than Verdugo (lower contact, better power), but Verdugo’s career body of work compares well to Rosario. Both Rosario and Verdugo had not made any all-star games or finished as a finalist for seasonal awards, but unlike Verdugo, Rosario never received MVP votes. Both Rosario and Verdugo consistently produced at a high level for their clubs, playing in lineups with other All-Stars. Since becoming a full-time player in 2019, Verdugo has been at least a 2 WAR player every season, whereas Rosario was a 1 WAR player in his platform-2 season. In terms of career production, Verdugo has been an equal if not better offensive player, given his higher AVG, OBP, and wRC+. When taking into account defensive performance, Verdugo surpasses Rosario in value (32 DRS to 10), leading to a significant advantage for Verdugo in rWAR (11.0 to 9.2). Verdugo’s reps will argue that if he and Rosario are so similar, and Rosario earned $4.19M, which is likely to be way above the midpoint, clearly Verdugo deserves a salary above the ultimate midpoint number. Comparisons Dependent on Midpoint: Charlie Blackmon - $3,500,000 Joe Panik - $3,450,000 Depending on what numbers Verdugo’s reps and the Red Sox each file at, either side could find themselves arguing for/against Charlie Blackmon and Joe Panik as strong comparable players. Verdugo’s representatives can argue that his upside (5.8 WAR player in 2020) clearly differentiates him from each of those two players. Panik has never posted a season with more than 3.8 WAR, and Blackmon never higher than 2.5. Verdugo is the only one of these three players to receive MVP votes. A 2-year lookback comparison between these 3 players shows that Verdugo is in a class of his own. He paces the group in R, AVG, OBP, rWAR, fWAR, wRC+, and DRS. In their careers, Verdugo has been better defensively than the other two players as well: 32 DRS, 10 UZR compared to -15, -8.2 for Blackmon and 3, 6.8 for Panik. Verdugo has also put up stronger numbers than both Blackmon and Panik in terms of career AVG, OBP, SLG, rWAR, and wRC+. The Red Sox will point out that Verdugo’s “5.8 WAR season” is actually 2.1 WAR in a 60 game season, extrapolated out for a full year. Unlike Verdugo, both Blackmon and Panik were voted to an All-Star game, and Joe Panik also won a Gold-Glove award. The Red Sox may say that if someone like Joe Panik, who was voted to an All-Star game and won a Gold-Glove, only received $3.45M, a player like Alex Verdugo (who has neither of those special accomplishments) should be awarded a salary below the midpoint. Even if he didn’t receive any MVP votes, Charlie Blackmon displayed a remarkable combination of speed and power during his platform season: he was 1 of only 2 MLB players with (i) more than 40 steals, or (ii) more than 15 home runs and more than 30 steals. Verdugo has never hit 15 or more home runs or stolen more than 6 bases. Red Sox Comparisons: David Peralta - $3,300,000 Mitch Haniger - $3,010,000 The Red Sox will argue that David Peralta and Mitch Haniger represent more accurate portrayals of who Verdugo is as a player, each in a different way. Similar to Verdugo, Peralta is a player who has a high floor when healthy and on the field. Peralta put up nearly identical platform season numbers to Verdugo in R (82 to 88), HR (14 to 13), RBI (57 to 63), AVG (.293 to .289), OBP (.352 to .351), SLG (.444 to .426), and rWAR (2.6 to 2.2). Peralta’s career numbers are also similar to Verdugo, despite less games played (421 to 443): HR (tied at 43), RBI (186 to 153), SB (25 to 21), AVG (.293 to .294), OBP (.345 to .352), SLG (.468 to .451) and wRC+ (113 to 114). Although Verdugo has more DRS and UZR, which leads to him having a higher WAR, neither Verdugo nor Peralta has ever been a finalist for a fielding award. The Red Sox could use Mitch Haniger as another comparable player, given the similarities in career production, but the club would have to acknowledge that Haniger’s poor platform season is worse than any season Verdugo had. However, because Haniger recorded such a strong platform-1 season, where he was an All-Star and received MVP votes, the Red Sox will utilize a 2-year lookback comparison. Despite playing almost 70 less games than Verdugo, Haniger put up similar WAR totals (7.7 rWAR to 7.9, 5.6 fWAR to 6.3). Haniger has attained value in a different way than Verdugo (more HR, higher SLG and wRC+), but is also comparable to Verdugo in career performance. Haniger’s career rWAR is 10.9 (Verdugo’s is 11.0) and his fWAR is 8.3 (Verdugo’s is 8.4), each remarkably close to Verdugo. The Red Sox will use Haniger’s $3.01M award to illustrate that two players with such similar value should not end up so far apart in yearly salary, arguing that Verdugo’s salary be lower than the midpoint. Dean Rosenberg is a 2L student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. He can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-rosenberg-4a1507a1/ and on Twitter @deanrosen7. [1] https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2020-batting-leaders.shtml [2] ​​https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=of&stats=bat&lg=al&qual=y&type=8&season=2020&month=30&season1=2020&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2020-01-01&enddate=2020-12-31&sort=14,d [3] https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_2020.shtml [4] ​​https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2020-fielding-leaders.shtml [5] https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=200&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2019&ind=1&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=&enddate= [6] ​​https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2020.shtml [7] https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2021.shtml [8] https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/verdual01.shtml [9] Id [10] Id [11] https://www.fangraphs.com/players/alex-verdugo/17027/stats?position=OF [12] ​​https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=100&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2020&ind=0&team=3&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2020-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=3,d [13] https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2021.shtml#all_players_value_batting [14]https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/olms/regs/compliance/cba/2019/private_/30majorclubs_k9831_060122.pdf

On Friday October 15th, 2021, Casey Martin had the lower half of his right leg amputated. [1] Casey Martin is the head coach of the Men’s Golf team at the University of Oregon, a former member of the PGA tour, and was college teammates with Tiger Woods at Stanford. Outside of coaching success, Martin’s name has largely been out of the news for nearly 20 years, but this weekend golf fans were reminded of his past. Martin is best known for suing the PGA Tour in 1997, filing litigation which was seen by many at the time as damaging to the integrity of the game. [2] Casey Martin has suffered from Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber syndrome since birth. KTW is a “congenital circulatory disorder,” and effects his ability to walk, especially significant distances. [3] In October 2019 he suffered a minor accident while pulling his garbage can in off the curb, and due to the weakened condition of his legs, broke his right tibia. Since then, he has fought a two-year battle to save his leg, as amputation above the knee was risky, but due to KTW syndrome the fracture in his leg never healed. [3] Luckily, Martin’s surgery last week was successful and he “has a good shot at an effective prosthesis.” [4] Martin has been quoted frequently as being lucky and grateful that his leg survived this long as he thought it was his “destiny” to lose it eventually. [4] But, while the golf industry reports and celebrates Martin’s successful surgery, it also brings about an opportunity to re-evaluate the stances taken in his lawsuit, ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001. Martin sued in US District Court in Oregon for violation of Title III of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) after his request to use a golf cart at PGA Tour Q-School was denied despite following proper ADA procedure. [5] At trial, the PGA Tour argued it had a right to make and enforce rules for its players, and brought in high profile witnesses such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to testify “walking was a fundamental part of golf.” [2] To the general public, Martin was portrayed as weak and attempting to thwart the game to his own advantage. However, judges at all three levels of Federal court disagreed and issued an injunction which allowed Martin to use a golf cart at PGA Tour events. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled “Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibited the PGA from discriminating against either the spectators or competitors on the basis of disability,” noting that Title III specifically identifies golf courses as a “public accommodation.” [5] In a game that has been historically exclusive by race, sex, and ability, Martin’s fight for progress represented an important step toward increasing the accessibility of both professional and amateur golf. And how credible was the pushback from the PGA Tour that they would “lose the game of golf forever the way we know it?” [2] Martin’s specific use of a golf cart has only been repeated by one other Tour player, John Daly, who competed in the 2019 PGA Championship at age 53 and invoked ADA for use of a golf cart. [6] However, the farther-reaching effects of a Supreme Court ruling which bound the PGA Tour to adhere to ADA Title III opened up opportunities in golf at all levels. Change did not occur overnight, but door to opportunity was opened. In 2015, the US Disabled Golf Association, or USDGA, was founded by Jason Faircloth, “the first and only American to play in the Disabled British Open” In 2018 the first ever US Disabled Open was held in Florida, which represented the first event to ever obtain world rankings for golfers with disabilities by the USGA. [7] Overall, Casey Martin’s success on the course and in the courtroom has played a pivotal role in driving the sport of golf toward constitutionally bound equal accessibility. [1] https://golf.com/news/casey-martin-sued-pga-tour-cart-use-loses-right-leg-amputation/ [2] https://www.lyingfour.com/conversations-blog/2021/5/27/gmfy37k9owf5ejxmy6z0o7b4d6gbe9 [3] https://www.cbc.ca/sports/golf/casey-martin-fight-saving-leg-1.5514829 [4] https://www.si.com/golf/news/casey-martin-has-right-leg-amputated-due-to-rare-circulatory-disease [5] https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-pga-tour-inc-v-martin [6] https://www.golflink.com/about_35344_pga-tour-when-can-professional-golfers-use-golf-carts.html [7] http://www.usdga.net/about/

A new development in the St. Louis v. the NFL et al. lawsuit emerged when the plaintiff’s legal team filed a motion to depose Rams owner Enos Stanley “Stan” Kroenke for a second time, but this time on video. This lawsuit is five years in the making, and the plaintiffs claim the NFL fraudulently misrepresented them by telling St. Louis they had a chance to keep the Rams. Judge McGraugh granted this motion on October 28th, as reported by Corey Miller from KSDK Channel Five, the local NBC station in St. Louis. This motion was filed after ESPN investigative journalist, Seth Wickersham, wrote about the thirty-two NFL owners turning on each other and creating a “civil war” amongst them at the first owners’ meeting held in person since 2019. Mr. Wickersham reported that John Mara, the New York Giants owner, stated that if Mr. Kroenke did not agree to indemnify the other owners, they would not have approved his project and let the Rams leave St. Louis. To get to Los Angeles, the NFL needed an owner who was worth billions, and Mr. Kroenke, along with his wife Anne Walton, the heiress to Walmart, are approximately worth $6-$7 billion, according to Forbes. The only Stan Kroenke supporter Wickersham listed is Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones became the lead proponent at the NFL Owners’ Meeting on January 12th, 2016 to push for the NFL owners to vote for Kroenke’s Inglewood project rather than Dean Spanos’s and Marc Davis’s Carson project to move their respective franchises, the Chargers and Raiders from San Diego and Oakland respectively. The NFL Relocation Committee voted in the Carson’s project favor, 5-1. However, the owners voted for the Rams relocation to Los Angeles 30-2, and the owners conducted this vote secretly. According to Randy Karraker, Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk’s host, and other media members, this was a first in the NFL’s history. Mr. Karraker reported the Cardinals, owned by the Bidwill family, and the Panthers, then owned by Jerry Richardson and now owned by Dave Tepper, voted for the Rams to stay in St. Louis. The plaintiffs moved to videotape Mr. Kroenke’s second deposition after Seth Wickersham reported Mr. Kroenke is threatening to abandon the indemnification agreement he signed when he agreed to the relocation terms in 2016. Also, the public is starting to pay attention to this lawsuit. The plaintiffs are without head attorney Bob Blitz because he was dismissed by Judge McGraugh as a lead attorney. Judge McGraugh dismissed him because he, along with former Anheuser-Busch president Dave Peacock, led the task force to keep the Rams in St. Louis, as reported by the St. Louis Post Dispatch and other media markets. He is still a key figure in this lawsuit as a witness, which requires its own story. The plaintiffs will depose Stan Kroenke a second time, and on videotape, to capture his movements so they can see how he would act as a witness. There is little doubt he is going to be called to the stand on January 10th, 2022, should this case go to trial. They need to know his monetary records, since Judge McGraugh approved the plaintiffs’ motion for punitive damages back in July, as multiple sources reported. First reported by Mike Florio and Randy Karraker, later confirmed by Benjamin Albright, NFL insider for the Denver Broncos, among other sources, the defendants could settle by giving St. Louis an expansion franchise. Different sources mentioned on 101ESPN and Pro Football Talk that the defendants, should they lose at trial, may have to pay an. estimated judgment between $8-$12 billion. The plaintiffs, by deposing Mr. Kroenke a second time on video, can move not only one step closer to a trial, but possibly closer to a settlement. Continue Reading at ksdk.com: https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports/nfl/rams/st-louis-nfl-lawsuit-stan-kroenke-deposition/63-69babbb1-ef4c-4278-9186-b59b093be5cc Alex Patterson is a 3L at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. He played football for seventeen years as an offensive and defensive lineman. He graduated from Lindenwood University-Belleville in 2018 with a Bachelor's in Sports Management. He can be followed on Twitter @alpatt71.

This article is the first in a series of articles which will explore the case against Las Vegas Raiders Wide Receiver, Henry Ruggs III from both the prosecution and defense standpoint. This article will explore how Mr. Ruggs III’s blood may just be the key to unraveling this case. The next article will explore Mr. Ruggs III’s potential defenses. Let’s get this out of the way. This isn’t Trevor Bauer or Deshaun Watson where there is a chance (however small in Watson’s case) neither will be charged with a crime. If the final crash investigation concludes the same thing as the preliminary findings, Henry Ruggs III will be charged by a grand jury with DUI Resulting in Death. As reported by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Twitter, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a traffic collision near the intersection of South Rainbow Boulevard and South Spring Valley Parkway in Las Vegas. Fire department personnel responded and located a deceased victim inside the Toyota Prius. The driver of the Chevrolet Corvette remained on scene and showed signs of impairment. The preliminary finding for the investigation is the Chevrolet Corvette driven by Las Vegas Raiders Wide Receiver, Henry Ruggs III rear-ended the Toyota Prius where the victim was inside. Mr. Ruggs will be charged with DUI Resulting in Death. In the State of Nevada, that charge is a Category B felony and carries a maximum of twenty years in prison. However, it also carries a minimum of two years in prison. Thus, if Mr. Ruggs III was convicted of this crime, he would have to serve a minimum of two years in prison. NRS 484C.430 states that a driver who is impaired by alcohol or drugs or has illegal amounts of alcohol or drugs in their system commits “DUI causing death” when the driver “does any act or neglects any duty imposed by law while driving or in actual physical control of any vehicle on or off the highways of this State, if the act or neglect of duty proximately causes the death to another person.” As we know from the statement, the preliminary finding of the crash was Mr. Ruggs III’s Chevrolet Corvette rear-ended the Toyota Prius driven by the deceased. That finding looks like it fits the language of the DUI Resulting in Death Statute. As it stands right now, how might the prosecution prove their case? Reading the law enforcement’s statement provided me a very important piece of information. “He (Mr. Ruggs III) was transported to UMC Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.” The fact he was transported to a local hospital is very important. The reason is because often in cases with DUI Resulting in Death, law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant to get the driver’s medical blood. The hospital will often take the driver’s blood because it is part of their routine practice. As Mr. Ruggs III was showing signs of impairment at the scene of the crash, his medical blood would be able to confirm or dispel whether Mr. Ruggs III was impaired at the time of the crash. The prosecuting attorney and eventually a jury will want to know exactly what his BAC (blood alcohol content) was at the time of the crash. Obviously, his BAC will be lower at the time of the blood draw than it was at the time of the crash. However, if it is till 3x the legal limit at the time of the draw, it is very safe to say it was even higher at the time of the crash. I once prosecuted a woman for DUI whose BAC was .32 at the time of the draw (4x the legal limit) and she was still blowing a .2 when she took the breath test approximately five hours after the crash. A jury loves to hear what the Defendant’s BAC was. It makes their job very easy. Was it more than .08 or not? If it was, how far over .08? If the BAC is .08 on the first blow and. 07 on the second blow, the jury is likely going to find that the Defendant wasn’t impaired. The reason being that one breath sample was under the legal limit. However, if the breath test shows the Defendant’s BAC was .14 on the first blow and .12 on the second than the jury likely will find the Defendant was impaired. The other important fact is somebody died. In opening statements, the prosecution will tell the jury that somebody died in this case. That way the jury is focused on the case and ensures their complete attention as opposed to them thinking about what will happen on the next episode of Squid Game. This case seems very open and shut especially if his blood draw shows his BAC exceeded the legal limit. However, from my experiences, no criminal case is ever open and shut. The ironclad criminal case does not exist. Henry Ruggs III will have his day in court. TO BE CONTINUED in The Defense of Henry Ruggs III. Matthew F. Tympanick is the Founder/Principal of Tympanick Law. P.A., located in Sarasota, Florida where he focuses his practice on Criminal Defense. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts School of Law where he served as a Public Interest Fellow and as a Staff Editor on the UMass Law Review. He was previously a felony prosecutor in Sarasota, Florida. In over three years as a prosecutor, he prosecuted thousands of misdemeanor and felony criminal cases. You can follow him on Twitter @Tympanick20.