Articles

01.04.16

Sports Ethical Dilemma: 105 MPH Fastball vs. Domestic Violence Allegations

Last week the Speaker of the NYC City Council, whose district includes parts of the Bronx near Yankee Stadium, said that she is considering boycotting Yankee games next season because the Yankees recently acquired, in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, Aroldis Chapman, who has been the subject ...


01.01.16

Digital Media Trends That Will Define 2016

Unlike the mega-M&A that dominated digital media in 2014 (Disney/Maker Studios, Apple/Beats Music, Facebook/Oculus), one story dominated digital media in 2015: Netflix and an increasing number of premium content-focused over-the-top video services ascended and accelerated the unbundling of ...


12.28.15

Odell Beckham Jr.'s Disciplinary Proceeding Is A Model Of Sports Justice And Efficiency

Sunday, December 20, Odell Beckham, Jr., of the New York Giants was accused of committing on-field unnecessary roughness, on the following day he was suspended for a game by an NFL official subordinate to the Commissioner, two days later Beckham's appeal was denied and December 27, he served ...


12.24.15

A Closer Look at 'Accidental Contracts'

It's not all that unusual to see such a term sheet calling for, say, a 20-day due diligence period. This is apparently supposed to be impressive to the seller, showing that the buyer is a can-do player. Unfortunately, unless the title work and survey have already been completed, it is very ...


12.21.15

Platini's Non-Attendance at FIFA Ethics Committee Meeting Is a Non-Event

As has been reported for some time, on Monday, December 21, FIFA's ethics court is expected to ban Michel Platini, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and Sepp Blatter, the currently suspended president of FIFA, from soccer activities for a long period, if not ...


12.17.15

University of Maryland Stadium Name Change Raises More Questions Than Answers

In the world outside of sports there has been controversy recently on how or even whether to honor historical figures who have been judged in retrospect to have acted in ways that are now considered to be unacceptable. It was inevitable that this controversy would also arise in the world of ...


12.15.15

Brady to Court: Accusations of Phone Destruction Are 'Irrelevant'

The brief filed by Tom Brady's lawyers last week in the Deflategate case acknowledges that the public was "inflamed" when it heard that Mr. Brady's cell phone had been destroyed on the very day that he was interviewed by the NFL investigator. But the brief argues that this blatant ...


12.14.15

New 'Waters of the U.S.' Rule on Hold: Enduring Debate Creates Uncertainty for Developers

In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the first of three key decisions interpreting the phrase "waters of the U.S." to define the scope of federal permitting jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Thirty years, three Supreme Court decisions, and one million comments later, the U.S. Army Corps ...


12.08.15

NCAA Desperately Needs Help on Its Investigations

Yesterday a California appellate court ruled that disgraced former assistant USC football coach, Todd McNair, "made a sufficiently convincing showing that the NCAA recklessly disregarded the truth." This is not the first time that a court has ruled that the NCAA's investigations are flawed, but ...


12.03.15

FIFA Loses More Credibility, If It Has any Left

Sixteen more indictments were handed down today relating to FIFA, the very powerful, wealthy and allegedly corrupt body which controls international soccer. Separately-very separately-FIFA announced reforms to combat corruption, which raises the question whether FIFA is capable of reforming ...