At Squire Patton Boggs, we pride ourselves on having a Sports and Entertainment team comprised of remarkable individuals, and today, we are thrilled to introduce Gabe Pennington, Corporate associate in our Manchester office, who will be Captaining the England Mixed Team at the Touch World Cup 2024, taking place 15-21 July in Nottingham, UK. In … Continue Reading
Former Arsenal Manager, Arsène Wenger famously said “We have gone from a vertical society to a horizontal society where everybody has an opinion about every decision you make, and everybody has an opinion on the Internet straight away.”[1] In 2024, Wenger’s words could not be more relatable. The internet has many wonderful features. It allows … Continue Reading
In competitive sport, small margins make the difference between winning and losing. It is therefore no surprise that elite sport is experiencing transformational change due to the increasing use of performance improvement technology. We have recently advised Formula 1 and Premier League football teams on their use of performance improvement technology solutions including in:… Continue Reading
This article was written for and first published by LawInSport. The original version is available to view here The UAE government has always placed a strong emphasis on physical education for Emirati and expat youth and as early as 2010, the government started introducing binding regulations 1 in that space. In time, this also started trickling down … Continue Reading
Since our last article about the challenges faced by the NBA as a result of COVID-19, the NBA’s Board of Governors voted to resume the season on 31 July at Disney World Orlando. The Board of Governors is made up of the owners of each NBA team and voted 29-1 to resume the season. As … Continue Reading
Two weeks ago former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton retired from rugby at the age of 29. He has struggled with a long list of rugby related injuries, most recently having knee surgery in December 2017 and neck surgery in September 2017 and following which he claimed, “my body is unable … Continue Reading
On 2 July, the Union Cycliste International (UCI) announced that the anti-doping investigation against four time Tour de France winner Chris Froome had been closed, clearing him to compete in this year’s edition of ‘Le Tour’. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), followed this announcement with its own, indicating that it would not appeal the decision … Continue Reading
The immediate as well as long-term risks of concussion are an ever-topical point of discussion within sport, and one that Sports Shorts has considered previously. Player welfare is regularly called into question, with concerns often voiced as to the quality and thoroughness of head injury assessments and concussion protocols. Ever since the death of Australian … Continue Reading
At least 542,000 vegans live in the UK. This is a remarkable 360% increase in those adopting a vegan diet in 2017 compared to that of ten years ago. Now, athletes are starting to join the trend and they are seeing direct benefits as a result. Kyrie Irving, now at the Boston Celtics, has had … Continue Reading
This weekend sees the opening of World Rugby’s Autumn International window where the top teams from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere will do battle in various ‘friendlies’ in order to better their standing in the World Rankings. Rugby has become increasingly professional over the last decade as a result of which there is a … Continue Reading
In August, Sports Shorts wrote about the updated 2017 CrossFit Games drugs policy (the “Policy”). In the final paragraph, we noted that it was hoped that the low level of breaches would continue and that the Policy would only truly be tested in the event a ‘big name’ athlete was found to have breached it. … Continue Reading
Following a meeting of the Formula One Strategy Group on Wednesday, the FIA has confirmed that the ‘halo’ cockpit safety device will become mandatory in F1 cars starting from next season. The halo device is a three pronged structure with a line directly in the middle of the drivers’ sight that rises and forms a … Continue Reading
Having surveyed in Part One some examples of violence in sport that led, or might have led, to the intervention of the law, attention turns in this second installment to why the law is perhaps not always an appropriate way of dealing with such situations. The case against prosecuting Aside from the presence of implied … Continue Reading
Following the unlikely victory of little-known Sport Pacifico over relative giants Estudiantes in an Argentinian cup match this month, came the still more unlikely admission by Sport Pacifico defender Federico Allende that during the game he used a needle to pierce opponents, a tactic he openly bragged about in a radio interview. The jury is … Continue Reading
On Thursday 8 June 2017 the British people will go to the polls to determine who will lead their country for the next four years and who will (almost definitely) oversee the nation’s exit from the European Union. It’s been almost a year since Britain voted for Brexit (to be precise, on Thursday, it will … Continue Reading
Not a phrase this author ever thought she would utter. However, participation in the London MoonWalk 2017 convinced me that (in some circumstances) it is 100% accurate. During the course of Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 May 2014, a 22 strong Squire Patton Boggs’ team (a motley crew comprising lawyers, support staff, clients, friends and … Continue Reading
Another week, another drugs scandal in Southern Hemisphere rugby. Or more accurately another four scandals. On Monday, it was announced that New Zealand rugby league captain Jesse Bromwich and international teammate Kevin Proctor would not be selected for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup having breached the team’s code of conduct following allegations that both … Continue Reading
Mental Health has been in the news a lot recently, with the recent “Heads Together” campaign being launched by members of the royal family to promote Britain’s talking about mental health, the Lord Mayor of London’s “This is me in the City” appeal, together with other campaigns being promoted by MIND, Rethink Mental Illness and … Continue Reading
On Sunday 23 April 2017, Liverpool Ladies Football Club won their FA WSL Spring Series opener 4-1 against Yeovil Town Ladies FC. It was a strong start for the Liverpool outfit in the WSL’s one-off competition (being held to bring the FA WSL league fixtures in line with the men’s calendar). The visitors blasted four … Continue Reading
Recently, rugby legend Dan Carter made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. After being pulled over by the police on Avenue des Champs-Élysées for speeding, police discovered that he was over the alcohol limit. He was subsequently dropped by his sponsor Land Rover for what seems to be a breach of a morality clause, … Continue Reading
One of the most challenging times in an athlete’s life can be the end of his or her sporting career and their ‘transition’ into a new life and a new career. In the same way that a sporting career is more than just a job: the move from sport to a post-sport career is not … Continue Reading
On Sunday 19 February 2017, the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) launched ‘Lift the Weight’, its online hub and campaign, that ‘aims to help remove the stigma surrounding mental health issues and offer the necessary tools and support to enable our members to enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life, both on the field and off it.’. … Continue Reading
I do CrossFit. There. I said it. At the very beginning of this post, thus conforming to most stereotypes about those wedded to the strength and conditioning programme first devised by husband and wife team Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai. Since first “Forging Elite Fitness”™ in 2000, CrossFit has become the largest gym organisation globally … Continue Reading
Back in November 2016 World rugby announced the introduction of a new tougher approach to accidental and reckless head contact through two new categories of dangerous tackle within the laws of the game. The effect of these changes is to promote and encourage a lower height in the tackle situation which in turn it is … Continue Reading