Kingsford Charcoal Should Use Images of Current Athletes

The media is all over Kingsford Charcoal's decision to use Ed O'Bannon's image on its product and pay him for it.  If Kingsford, or any other company, is interested in drawing even more publicity to their product, they should use current college athletes without getting a license from them (in order to preserve the athlete's eligibility).  Then when the athletes' universities send the companies a letter stating that they don't have the right to use the image because it violates NCAA "amateurism" rules, they can either throw it in the trash or reply back to the universities: "Please inform your athlete to assert a right of publicity claim against us and we would be willing to pay the athlete to dismiss the claim."    

Legal aftermath of Adrian Peterson decision

In a new Sports Illustrated article, I write about the legal consequences to U.S. District Judge David Doty vacating an aberration award in favor of the NFL's suspension of Adrian Peterson and the NFL swiftly petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for review.

Update on Aaron Hernandez trial for Murder

It's been another busy week in the trial of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez for the murder of Odin Lloyd. I have legal analyses of each day of the trial for Sports Illustrated, including these recent pieces:

Thursday Feb. 25: Hernandez trial: Gas station video pivotal for prosecution on Day 16

Wednesday Feb. 24: Circumstantial evidence proves powerful on Day 15 of Hernandez trial

Tuesday Feb. 23: Trash bag held by Aaron Hernandez's fiancée essential to Day 14 of trial

Monday Feb. 22: Hernandez's defense team has difficult day on Day 13 of trial

Friday Feb. 19: Video of Lloyd getting into a car is pivotal to Day 12 of Hernandez trial

Thursday Feb. 18: Hernandez's attorneys use a shoe-based defense in Day 11 of trial

New Law Review Article: Pro Sports Teams and the FLSA

I recently posted a copy of my latest law review article, "Gaming the System: The Exemption of Professional Sports Teams from the Fair Labor Standards Act," to SSRN.  The paper - co-authored with employment law scholar Charlotte Alexander - examines the applicability of the FLSA's exemption for seasonal recreational or amusement employers to U.S. professional sports teams, an issue that is currently being raised in the pending minimum wage lawsuits filed by NFL cheerleaders and minor league baseball players.  We ultimately conclude that sports teams will often be exempt from the FLSA in at least some portions of their operations, before proposing several ways that Congress could amend the law to prevent teams from relying on this exception.

Here's the full abstract for the paper:

This article examines a little known exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) that relieves seasonal recreational or amusement employers from their obligation to pay the minimum wage and overtime. The article evaluates the existing, confused case law surrounding the exemption and proposes a new, simplified framework for applying the provision. It then applies this framework to a recent wave of FLSA lawsuits brought against professional sports teams by cheerleaders, minor league baseball players, and stadium workers who claim they received less than the hourly minimum wage and/or were denied overtime pay. In particular, it determines that, when viewed properly, sports teams will often qualify for the exemption in at least some aspects of their operations. The article concludes by considering the policy implications of exempting this class of employers — some of which are worth up to three billion dollars — from the FLSA’s wage and hour requirements.

You can download the article here.  Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Sports Law & The MIT Sports Analytics Conference

This week, the 9th Annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference will take place in Boston. This event has become one of the absolute best sports conferences of the year, attracting some of the biggest names in the industry. This year's edition is one of the strongest ever, with a lineup of panelists and an agenda that will make news while educating those lucky enough to attend. [Note: this conference typically sells out months in advance.]

And, allow me to promote the contributors of the Sports Law Blog just a bit, as several of us will be participating.

1. I'll be moderating a panel entitled "Amateurs or Industry: NCAA Reform" and the hardest working sports lawyer, our own Editor-in-Chief Michael McCann, will be on the panel with me....correcting my mistakes.

2. Our own Ryan Rodenberg will be on a panel titled "Book It: Legaling Sports Betting" which promises to be one of the hottest topics at the conference.

I also believe several of our other contributors (Daniel Wallach & Jimmy Golen among others) will be in attendance.

Finally, the best news is that if you aren't able to attend this conference, the good folks at MIT will post videos of ALL of the panels in due course so you'll be able to watch and enjoy in the future.

Bubblicious gum emerges as crucial evidence in Aaron Hernandez trial. My legal take on Day 10 of Trial

Could the Aaron Hernandez trial come down to a piece of gum? Here's my legal take for Sports Illustrated on key developments from Day 10.

Cozen O'Connor 2015 Sports Law for Rookies and Veterans

There is a great professional sports law event coming up on March 5th at Eden Roc Miami Beach, 4525 Collins Ave in Miami: sports attorney Steve Silton of Cozen O'Connor has put this together the 2015 Sports Law for Rookies and Veterans. Speakers include DeMaurice Smith, Donald Remy, Leigh Steinberg and many others. For more information, click here.