Sports

Mixed 9th Circuit Ruling Upholds NCAA Antitrust Ruling, Vacates Athlete Payment Proposal

While the panel was in agreement with the first part of Judge Wilken’s ruling, Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas disagreed with the other two judges on the merits of Wilken’s acceptance of the deferred-compensation option. Defending the majority opinion of vacating this portion of Wilken’s ruling, Judge Bybee wrote “The difference between offering student-athletes education-related compensation and offering them cash sums untethered to educational expenses is not minor; it is a quantum leap,” Bybee added, “Once that line is crossed, we see no basis for returning to a rule of amateurism and no defined stopping point.”

Study Finds Nearly 96 percent of Deceased NFL Players had CTE

In total, the researchers from the nation’s largest brain bank examined 165 brains of people who played football professionally, semi-professionally, or in college or high school while living. The brain bank is run as a joint venture between the VA and the university. They found 131 of the brains showed some evidence of CTE, including the 87 NFL pros.

Judge Berman Overrules NFL’s Suspension of Tom Brady

The NFL has already announced that they will appeal the ruling; however it means that Brady will be permitted to start the first game of the NFL season, which begins next week. Depending on the success of the NFL’s appeal, it is still possible that Brady will have to serve the suspension at a later time.

Graduate Transfer Rule is Reshaping College Football

Without exception, players who earn a degree, yet have playing eligibility remaining are allowed to transfer to a different school and play immediately. Normally, transfer students must sit out a year before being permitted to play for a different school. The remaining eligibility could come from being red-shirted (usually as a freshman), requiring the player to sit and practice for a season before being permitted to play in regular season games. Other causes for remaining eligibility could stem from medical/injury reasons, as well as by taking summer classes and graduating early.

Appeals Court Strikes Down New Jersey’s Sports Betting Law…Again

Governor Chris Christie, along with state politicians and residents, has been hoping to revive the industry through sports wagering. Judge Rendell acknowledged the local sentiment, writing in the majority opinion, “While PASPA’s provisions and its reach are controversial and, some might say, unwise, we are not asked to judge the wisdom of PASPA and it is not our place to usurp Congress’ role simply because PASPA may have become an unpopular law.”

If Mike Could be Like Me

Jordan told reporters, “This shows I will protect my name to the fullest. It’s my name and I worked hard for it, and I’m not just going to let someone take it.”

According to Jordan’s attorneys, the use of his likeness for advertising should have been valued at roughly $10 million, whereas Dominick’s attorney Steven Mandel argued that the Jordan’s legal team is overvaluing the amount, and that the jury should award Jordan $126,900 for his likeness in the ad.

NLRB Claims Lack of Jurisdiction, Dismisses Northwestern Football Players’ Petition to Unionize

In the dismissal, the NLRB wrote, “the Board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).” The NLRB wrote that the dismissal is specific to this particular petition saying, “This decision is narrowly focused to apply only to the players in this case and does not preclude reconsideration of this issue in the future.”

‘Go Bleep Yourself San Diego!’

San Diego unveiled a $1.1 billion proposal to build a stadium in the city’s Mission Valley area to keep the team there, replacing the antiquated Qualcomm Stadium. The proposal, however, only includes one-third of the cost to be publicly financed, leaving the Chargers and the NFL responsible for over $750 million of the cost. Chargers executive Mark Fabiani rebuked the proposal and city officials, saying “The Chargers have been clear from the start that the franchise will not be the city’s guinea pig for this inevitably ill-fated legal experiment.”