Sports Law
Rose v. Giammatti - ANS-Pete Rose was the manager of the Reds and was betting on
games in favor of the Reds, while Giammati was commissioner of the MLB. Agreed to
be finally bound by commissioner decisions in contract, and he was banned for life by
commissioner. RSued in state court, saying he was an employee of th Reds so no
diversity. MLB said that the suit was actually between Rose and the commissioner and
removed to federal court.
- The court affirmed the authority of the commissioner
Milwaukee Amer. Ass'n v. Landis - ANS-Landis was the commissioner and St. Louis
was artificially moving a player between the majors and the minors to keep their rights
to that player. Commissioner declared player a free agent to release him.
- Court ruled that the league had given the commissioner broad discretion and that he
was within his rights. As long as the decision was not made fraudulently or arbitrarily
then it was within the jurisdiction granted to the commissioner. The court dismissed suit.
Finley v. Kuhn - ANS-Kuhn waiving the trade was valid - it is beyond the jurisdiction of
the court to decide . Kuhn argued that the contract assignment that were made were not
in the best interest of the game.
Atlanta National League Baseball Club & Ted Turner v. Kuhn* - ANS-Draft about to
happen, and the Commissioner found that the owner of the braves made improper
contact with Gary Matthews of the Giants - so tampered with free agent before the free
agent draft.
Court:
1) Commissioner had authority to suspend Ted Turner for 1 year
2) Commissioner had authority to void the contract and not allow Braces to bid on
player
3) Commissioner was out of line in finding $5,000 and taking away first pick in rookie
draft. (ask lulla why)
Chicago Cubs v. Vincent - ANS-- Fay Vincent succeeded Giammatti as commissioner
- Vincent wanted Cubs and Cardinals to move to NL West
- Cubs didn't want to move, wanted to say in division with rivals
- Cubs sought injunction
,- Court: 1) Judge found language of constitution of the national league required the
team's consent to move them out of the division and 2) the Commissioner is not allowed
to use "best interest of baseball" clause to supersede constitutional provisions.
In re Los Angeles Dodgers LLC - ANS-- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt going through
drawn out divorce
- Got a tv deal to fix his financial problems
- The Commissioner found that it was contrary to the interest of baseball because it was
a below market deal
- Bud Selig was commissioner and found that McCourt was going to have to sell the
team at some point and the new owner would be locked into a very bad deal
Hill v. NCAA - ANS-CA Supreme court ruled urine samples and testing interrupted
integrity and the privacy of athletes but the league had competing interest and therefore
testing was okay
- Drug testing has also been upheld by the SCOTUS
Ali v. State Athletic Commission - ANS-Ali was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam
War
- Went to renew his license to box in New York and was denied
- NY Boxing Commission blamed moral turpitude
- Ali brought evidence of many other boxers who were committed of misdemeanors,
felonies, desertion, etc. that had their licenses renewed repeatedly
- Court found that it was an arbitrary and unreasonable departure from their established
process.
- A state agency, acting as an extension of the state itself, must have some rational
basis in granting or refusing licenses to engage in a regulated activity, such as boxing.
Mike Vick situation - ANS-• Convicted of dog fighting and then had to pay back part of
signing bonus
• Suspended during jail sentence and then once got out was allowed back into the
league
Ludtke and Time, Inc. v. Kuhn - ANS-• Female reporters banned from locker rooms after
games by commissioner Kuhn
• Court found this impaired the ability of women to do their job and unfairly discriminated
against them
Key Labor Laws - ANS-*The Wagner Act, also called the National Labor Relations Act
of 1935, gave workers involved in interstate commerce the right to organize labor
, unions. States passed the "right to work" laws that prohibited labor union formation for
workers not involved in interstate commerce
• Wagner Act, ammended by Taft-Hartley
• National Labor Act - Created National Labor Review Board
o NLRB = arbitrator
o Appealable to federal courts
• Labor laws do not cover "supervisors"
o Umpires = supervisors
Morio v. North American Soccer League - ANS-• League tried to unilaterally change
different aspects of the league and working conditions
o Extended summer season, added new winter season, reduced roster sizes, etc.
• NLRB ruled that league could not unilaterally do this
• Appeal
• Court ruled that clauses were voidable. Labor Act requires league to negotiate and
bargain collectively with the Union
• Wage scale in sports is tilted towards the stars whereas in regular industry tilted
towards average workers
o Beverly Kearney Case (Treatment of LGBT) - ANS-• UT Track coach
• Admitted she had a relationship with student-athlete 10 years prior
• She was fired
• Sued for racial and gender discrimination
• Discovery showed men had done similar things (Major Applewhite (player and coach
here who had an affair with a student trainer at the fiesta bowl) - had salary freeze for 11
months and then was promoted and raise...)
• UT's argument = Beverly was unique in that it was with one of her sport's athletes and
she was in position of authority/control
2003 - Alex Rodriguez - ANS-• Was on the rangers and had signed the most lucrative
contract in team sports history ($252 million)
• A Rod and his agent wanted him to be traded to the Red Sox
• Red Sox wanted him to take a $20 million pay cut
• A Rod was ok with cut because would be in better market and make up for it with
endorsements
• Union said that he was not allowed to take a pay cut without Union's permission
o Would it matter if it weren't a star but rather a benchwarmer?
NASL v. NLRB - ANS-• North American Soccer League and the teams are joint
employers
Rose v. Giammatti - ANS-Pete Rose was the manager of the Reds and was betting on
games in favor of the Reds, while Giammati was commissioner of the MLB. Agreed to
be finally bound by commissioner decisions in contract, and he was banned for life by
commissioner. RSued in state court, saying he was an employee of th Reds so no
diversity. MLB said that the suit was actually between Rose and the commissioner and
removed to federal court.
- The court affirmed the authority of the commissioner
Milwaukee Amer. Ass'n v. Landis - ANS-Landis was the commissioner and St. Louis
was artificially moving a player between the majors and the minors to keep their rights
to that player. Commissioner declared player a free agent to release him.
- Court ruled that the league had given the commissioner broad discretion and that he
was within his rights. As long as the decision was not made fraudulently or arbitrarily
then it was within the jurisdiction granted to the commissioner. The court dismissed suit.
Finley v. Kuhn - ANS-Kuhn waiving the trade was valid - it is beyond the jurisdiction of
the court to decide . Kuhn argued that the contract assignment that were made were not
in the best interest of the game.
Atlanta National League Baseball Club & Ted Turner v. Kuhn* - ANS-Draft about to
happen, and the Commissioner found that the owner of the braves made improper
contact with Gary Matthews of the Giants - so tampered with free agent before the free
agent draft.
Court:
1) Commissioner had authority to suspend Ted Turner for 1 year
2) Commissioner had authority to void the contract and not allow Braces to bid on
player
3) Commissioner was out of line in finding $5,000 and taking away first pick in rookie
draft. (ask lulla why)
Chicago Cubs v. Vincent - ANS-- Fay Vincent succeeded Giammatti as commissioner
- Vincent wanted Cubs and Cardinals to move to NL West
- Cubs didn't want to move, wanted to say in division with rivals
- Cubs sought injunction
,- Court: 1) Judge found language of constitution of the national league required the
team's consent to move them out of the division and 2) the Commissioner is not allowed
to use "best interest of baseball" clause to supersede constitutional provisions.
In re Los Angeles Dodgers LLC - ANS-- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt going through
drawn out divorce
- Got a tv deal to fix his financial problems
- The Commissioner found that it was contrary to the interest of baseball because it was
a below market deal
- Bud Selig was commissioner and found that McCourt was going to have to sell the
team at some point and the new owner would be locked into a very bad deal
Hill v. NCAA - ANS-CA Supreme court ruled urine samples and testing interrupted
integrity and the privacy of athletes but the league had competing interest and therefore
testing was okay
- Drug testing has also been upheld by the SCOTUS
Ali v. State Athletic Commission - ANS-Ali was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam
War
- Went to renew his license to box in New York and was denied
- NY Boxing Commission blamed moral turpitude
- Ali brought evidence of many other boxers who were committed of misdemeanors,
felonies, desertion, etc. that had their licenses renewed repeatedly
- Court found that it was an arbitrary and unreasonable departure from their established
process.
- A state agency, acting as an extension of the state itself, must have some rational
basis in granting or refusing licenses to engage in a regulated activity, such as boxing.
Mike Vick situation - ANS-• Convicted of dog fighting and then had to pay back part of
signing bonus
• Suspended during jail sentence and then once got out was allowed back into the
league
Ludtke and Time, Inc. v. Kuhn - ANS-• Female reporters banned from locker rooms after
games by commissioner Kuhn
• Court found this impaired the ability of women to do their job and unfairly discriminated
against them
Key Labor Laws - ANS-*The Wagner Act, also called the National Labor Relations Act
of 1935, gave workers involved in interstate commerce the right to organize labor
, unions. States passed the "right to work" laws that prohibited labor union formation for
workers not involved in interstate commerce
• Wagner Act, ammended by Taft-Hartley
• National Labor Act - Created National Labor Review Board
o NLRB = arbitrator
o Appealable to federal courts
• Labor laws do not cover "supervisors"
o Umpires = supervisors
Morio v. North American Soccer League - ANS-• League tried to unilaterally change
different aspects of the league and working conditions
o Extended summer season, added new winter season, reduced roster sizes, etc.
• NLRB ruled that league could not unilaterally do this
• Appeal
• Court ruled that clauses were voidable. Labor Act requires league to negotiate and
bargain collectively with the Union
• Wage scale in sports is tilted towards the stars whereas in regular industry tilted
towards average workers
o Beverly Kearney Case (Treatment of LGBT) - ANS-• UT Track coach
• Admitted she had a relationship with student-athlete 10 years prior
• She was fired
• Sued for racial and gender discrimination
• Discovery showed men had done similar things (Major Applewhite (player and coach
here who had an affair with a student trainer at the fiesta bowl) - had salary freeze for 11
months and then was promoted and raise...)
• UT's argument = Beverly was unique in that it was with one of her sport's athletes and
she was in position of authority/control
2003 - Alex Rodriguez - ANS-• Was on the rangers and had signed the most lucrative
contract in team sports history ($252 million)
• A Rod and his agent wanted him to be traded to the Red Sox
• Red Sox wanted him to take a $20 million pay cut
• A Rod was ok with cut because would be in better market and make up for it with
endorsements
• Union said that he was not allowed to take a pay cut without Union's permission
o Would it matter if it weren't a star but rather a benchwarmer?
NASL v. NLRB - ANS-• North American Soccer League and the teams are joint
employers
