Lance Armstrong & Michael McCann (No, really)

Our own Michael McCann goes one-on-one with Lance Armstrong in Austin, Texas for CNNSI!  As Mike tells the story:

"A few weeks ago, I discovered I had a new Twitter follower: Lance Armstrong. I thought it was a little odd because I don't cover cycling and the times I've written about Armstrong's legal issues I've often sharply criticized him. Nonetheless, I was intrigued. Soon we began corresponding privately and last week Armstrong invited me to his house in Austin for an interview."

To read today's teaser from CNNSI you can go here.  For the entire, groundbreaking story, you'll need to go purchase this week's Sports Illustrated.  Have no fear, you can purchase a digital version here.

Congratulations Mike on a tremendous job--both in getting Lance's attention and becoming a relevant contributor to the development of this international strory.  While Mike won't display any braggadocio, allow me to do so.  Huzzah Mike!  [Now if he had interviewed Lance for The Sports Law Blog we might get a few more followers.....]

Nick Lowery Battles Bullying

Look to the Stars, a website designed, "to publicize the many wonderful things that celebrities are doing to help the world," focuses this week on former Dartmouth and NFL placekicker Nick Lowery '78 and an April 4 event he is hosting.


The goal of Lowery's “Imagine 100 Faces” celebration is "to garner awareness for the unseen faces of bullied children and underprivileged youth." The event is

DePaul Sports Law Symposium: Fri. March 8

DEPAUL JOURNAL OF SPORTS LAW & CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS 2013 SYMPOSIUM

HURDLES:

 

LEGAL ISSUES A MODERN ATHLETE MUST OVERCOME

Friday, March 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
DePaul University,
DePaul Center Room 8005, 1 E. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604

Panel I: Physical Issues Athletes Must Overcome
10:05 - 10:50 AM
Moderated by Professor Michael S. Jacobs (DePaul College of Law)

1. Darren Heitner, Professor of Sport Agency Management at Indiana University Bloomington

   * Discussing the helmet manufacturer component of NFL concussion litigation

2. Scott Andresen, Partner, Andresen & Associates, P.C.

  * Discussing brain injuries and psychological damages resulting from participation in contact sports

Panel II: Moral Issues that Athletes Must Overcome

10:55 – 11:40 AM
Moderated by Professor Michael S. Jacobs (DePaul College of Law)

3. Chris Deubert, Associate Attorney, Peter R. Ginsberg Law, LLC

*Discussing arbitration strategies used as counsel for Johnathan Vilma during Bountygate Scandal

4. Robert Raiola, CPA, Sports and Entertainment Group Manager

   *Discussing contractual payment provisions and responsible investing for athletes such as RGIII

Panel III: Bureaucratic Issues Athletes Must Overcome
12:00-1:00 PM
Moderated by Professor Wayne Lewis (DePaul College of Law)

5. Prof. Marc Edelman, Professor of Law, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law

   * Discussing anti-trust issues and the NCAA, focusing on pay-for-play and age requirements

6. Cari A. Stern, Associate Attorney, Chapman & Cutler LLP

   * Discussing Title IX issues schools face with respect to participation, eligibility, and sexual harassment

DePaul Law Students: FREE General Admission (including CLE credit for lawyers): $60 DePaul Law Alumni: $30 Other DePaul (non-law school) Students, Faculty, & Staff: $15 Other Law Students (non-DePaul): $20

NCAA Punts

Today's issue of The Dartmouth features a story on the recent deregulation of recruiting by the NCAA. Included were a couple of revealing quotes from Dartmouth Athletic Director Harry Sheehy:

“I think they simply couldn’t control a lot of things so they just decided if we can’t control it, let’s make it legal."

And . . .

“The fact that we are able to do these things does not necessarily mean

Regulating MMA

This op-ed appeared on Fightland, a blog devoted to MMA; the author is the newly appointed commissioner/executive director of the fledgling state commission to regulate combat sports in Wyoming. One interesting point in the piece is how state regulation is necessary not so much for high-level competition (the author is not necessarily expecting UFC to come to Wyoming anytime soon), but for low-level amateur competitions among weekend athletes.

The 2014 Ivy Schedules

Back on Feb. 12 BGA posted the 2013 schedules for all the Ivy League teams. In the 2014 season there will be the usual non-league opponents with a few interesting additions, the most interesting of which is Army's Sept. 27 game at Yale. The game was arranged as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Yale Bowl.

Also in 2014, Dartmouth renews acquaintances with New Hampshire on

An Open Letter to College Athletes

Dear College Athletes:

You are obviously well aware of NCAA rules that prohibit you from advertising, recommending, promoting or endorsing the sale of commercial products and services.

Five years ago when Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy, I wrote him a letter on Sports Law Blog suggesting that he might consider suing third parties who profit from the use of his identity in commercial products without his permission.   By filing a lawsuit an athlete is not accepting payment for advertising, recommending, promoting or endorsing the sale of a product; rather the athlete would be protecting the property right in his identity from theft, which he has every legal right to do.

You may have heard that Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel just recently filed a trademark lawsuit against someone for selling "Johnny Football" T-shirts without his permission.  As this is the first athlete with college eligibility to file a lawsuit asserting a trademark or right of publicity violation, the NCAA had no choice but to rule that Manziel can keep any money received from the litigation without it affecting his eligibility.

But the NCAA also clarified that any "loophole" created by Manziel's lawsuit is "closed" because they would consider it an NCAA violation if a lawsuit was an "orchestrated event" between the athlete and a booster to intentionally violate amateurism rules.

Putting aside the NCAA's conspiracy theory paranoia, here is the more likely scenario:

(1) Third party uses your identity in a product;

(2) Third party receives a cease and desist letter from your university which states that third party is violating NCAA amateurism rules and has no right to use your identity; and

(3) Third party throws the letter in the trash because (a) it is not bound by NCAA rules, (b) it is not using the university's intellectual property, (c) the university has no legal claim against it, and (d) it might even be willing to pay you a licensing fee absent your university's interference with its ability to obtain a license from you.

You see, Manziel's lawsuit exposes a dilemma that has always confronted the NCAA but which is no longer one of its best kept secrets.

The dilemma is that although the NCAA can prevent you from licensing (i.e. authorizing) the use of your identity to third parties for commercial purposes, it cannot and never could legally prevent you from receiving damages in a court of law through the enforcement of your legal rights against third parties who use your identity without your permission.  And you don't need to have a trademark because there are right of publicity laws in most states that protect you.

Manziel's lawsuit also exposes the fact that neither the NCAA nor your university has the legal right or authority to prevent, or interfere with, a non-member third party's use of your identity because that property right is yours and it is your property right that is being stolen.  Keep in mind that as your identity increasingly becomes more valuable for use in commercial products, third parties likewise become more willing to bear the cost of the licensing fee awarded to you in your lawsuit against them.

Manziel's lawsuit puts a spotlight on an NCAA rule that, unfortunately, not only interferes with a non-member's ability to enter a legal transaction with you but also burdens you with unnecessary and circuitous litigation that requires you to share one-third of the award with your lawyer.

Sincerely,

Rick Karcher
Sports Law Professor