Following the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee’s grant of a preliminary injunction in the recent case filed against the NCAA, captioned Tennessee and Virginia v. NCAA, the NCAA has decided to halt investigations into third-party involvement in name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation deals with Division I college athletes. In granting … Continue Reading
As discussed in a recent blog post, on January 21, 2024, the Attorneys General for Tennessee and Virginia filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, arguing that a new set of NCAA rules governing certain Name, Image, and Likeness activities in college athletics were violative of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In their complaint, the … Continue Reading
A new lawsuit was filed on January 31, 2024, that could significantly impact the NCAA’s ability to regulate Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) in collegiate athletics. Filed by the Attorneys General of Tennessee and Virginia in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee[1], the lawsuit challenges certain NCAA restrictions of NIL payments … Continue Reading
It has been over two years since the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) lifted its prohibition on college athletes being able to profit from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). When people traditionally think of NIL, they think of student athletes at the collegiate level receiving payment for their likeness. However, collegiate athletes are not … Continue Reading
Now that a regulatory framework is in place, either by way of the NCAA’s interim policy or through the various state laws discussed in the second iteration of this blog series, academic institutions and private entities, such as alumni and companies, have quickly engaged in the NIL space. This final post of our three-part blog … Continue Reading
As discussed in part one of this blog series, the landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in the Alston case effectively paved the way for collegiate athletes to profit from their own name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). While many states quickly enacted legislation addressing NIL, it remains to be seen whether and how … Continue Reading
In the United States, college athletics are as popular as professional sports, generating revenues of over $1 billion for the 2021 fiscal year. Despite this popularity, college athletes have long been classified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) as having amateur status. The NCAA—which promulgates the rules and regulations pertaining to student-athletes’ participation and … Continue Reading
The crown jewels of American thoroughbred horseracing are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Together, they are known as the “Triple Crown,” and winning all three in a single year—an immensely difficult feat—is the pinnacle of horseracing in the United States. Robert Baffert, a seven-time Kentucky Derby winner, is one of only … Continue Reading
A recent United States district court decision on copyright infringement has brought the issue of recreation of tattoos in video games back into the spotlight, and has cast doubt on an earlier ruling from another district court in a different judicial circuit. The gravamen of the case was the digital depiction of five tattoos on … Continue Reading
Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) handed down a decision in a case of significant import for professional soccer in the United States.[1] At issue was whether FIFA’s rules and regulations require the implementation of promotion and relegation in the United States’ soccer hierarchy. After a protracted dispute that involved numerous briefs, … Continue Reading
America’s top-flight soccer league, Major League Soccer, is set to begin regular-season play on February 29, 2020. Excitement among American soccer fans is palpable, due in no small part to the debut of two new clubs beginning their inaugural seasons: Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF. While both clubs represent equally the continued growth of … Continue Reading
Few things are more ubiquitous in sports than informing an official—sometimes politely but, more often than not, rather impolitely—that they made an incorrect call. Officials no doubt anticipate this hostility and tune it out while on the field. What they likely do not anticipate, however, is being haled into a deposition months after the game … Continue Reading
