Jon Coyles grew up in upstate New York and attended the University of Rochester, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy. A former high school track & field member, Jon continued his love for the sport at the collegiate level, and ran for the Yellowjackets (University of Rochester) varsity team. Coming from a household where his father was an attorney, Jon always knew that law school would be in his future. Thus, upon graduation from Rochester, Jon enrolled at the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he ultimately earned his law degree.
Currently, Jon is the Vice President of Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) Drug, Health, and Safety Programs. Jon first joined the MLB in June of 2007 as Director of MLB Drug Programs. Jon was then promoted to:
- Director and Labor Counsel of MLB Drug Programs in January of 2008;
- Senior Director and Labor Counsel of MLB Drug Programs in June of 2012; and
- His current role in March of 2016.
As Vice President of MLB Drug, Health and Safety Programs, Jon oversees an array of activities aimed at keeping the world’s best baseball players healthy, as well as keeping the competition fair (i.e., supervising drug testing, anti-doping, and player use of anabolic steroids). Jon’s role at the MLB includes administering the sport’s concussion protocol, as well as other issues of health and safety (which includes tobacco use).
Additionally, as part of the MLB’s labor relations department, Jon helps renegotiate the major league player’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) every five years. Likewise, Jon assists in renegotiating the CBA of the roughly 7,500 ballplayers in the minor leagues, who are also represented by the MLBPA. Moreover, Jon reviews policies that apply to non-unionized employees of Major League Baseball, including managers, coaches and unsigned prospects coming out of the draft.
Prior to working for the MLB, Jon was an associate attorney in a New York City labor & employment law firm, but he quickly got connected with a senior attorney in the MLB’s labor relations department.
Jon lives in Rochester with his wife (another former UB Law graduate from 2005) and two daughters, but spends much of his time working downstate in MLB’s New York City office.
It was an honor to interview Jon and I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with him about his experience and career path working in professional sports. Thank you, Jon, for this very memorable opportunity.
Q: What is your favorite thing about your job?
A: “One of the best things about this job is that it changes on a pretty regular basis. There is not two days that are exactly the same. That for me is very motivating and exciting still, even after 17 years on the job. Additionally, I am very proud of the fact that I am the first person to ever hold this position at Major League Baseball. I also enjoy the fact that what started as a role specific to drug testing has now grown more into a role concerning player health and safety.”
Q: In addition to overseeing all things related to drug testing and health, you also are a part of the labor relations department and deal with the MLB Player’s Association. Can you speak more about your role in this aspect of the job?
A: “The Major League Baseball Players Association (i.e., the Players’ Union) is one of the strongest unions in the country. They have strong membership, and it is something that when you are in the labor relations department, like I am, pretty much everything you do has some kind of union component. So, we are regularly speaking to the Union, making proposals, receiving proposals, and entering negotiations with the Union. This does not happen every 5 years for the purpose of CBA revision, but in the drug testing and player-health world, we are constantly in touch with the Union and making adjustments.”
Q: How would you categorize your relationship/MLB’s relationship with the Players’ Association (i.e., Union)?
A: “By virtue of many hours and cases dealing with the Union, while we certainly are on opposite sides of the bargaining table, I am proud to say that we have developed a very respectful, even collegial, relationship with my counterparts at the Players’ Association. This is because we have taken a fair and equitable approach to things like drug testing, which if you are the legal representation for players, is exactly the approach you want the League to take. Again, this has resulted in a respectful relationship that has allowed us to have strong and effective drug testing systems, but also has allowed us to work on other projects that have intended to keep players as healthy and safe as we possibly can. When your goal is to keep professional baseball players healthy, safe, and out of harm’s way, you are not going to get a lot of disagreement from their legal representatives.”
Q: To get to the position you are at today, are there any classes you took at UB Law, or any classes that you would recommend to a law-student soon to be lawyer?
A: “That’s a tough question. What classes you take, or that are most helpful to you, depend on which area of the law in professional sports that you might be interested in pursuing. While I have a medical/health/labor kind of leaning job, there are entirely separate departments and groups of individuals and lawyers in our office who are more ‘traditional lawyers’ that have litigation, IP, or business backgrounds. So, I certainly would put a pitch in for the Sports Law Concentration, even if it is just one class, because that will create an awareness on the laundry list of different areas of the law that one could pursue in the sports context. Overall, I would recommend to take enjoyable classes that open your eyes to get a complex perspective of what the professional sports industry makes up.”
Q: Can you describe some of the legal areas that the professional sports industry makes up?
A: “In just the League office, we have lawyers in about a dozen different departments. But even outside of the League office, you have the unions, which are made up of different groups of lawyers. This is not just in the labor context, but in things like player rights, contract negotiation, and various IP issues. You also have agencies, television networks, and the list goes on and on and on.”
Q: You joined the MLB right around the time when Senator George Mitchell completed his investigation into performance enhancing substance use (i.e., the “Mitchell Report”). Can you describe what this time was like?
A: “The core of my job in ’07 was coordinating with the internal lawyers, and the lawyers at the Players’ Association, on everything start-to-finish that was drug testing related (i.e., the time that the players are taking a test, all the way through discipline and potential appeals and resolutions of any challenges). I remember that there was a lot of media and fanfare going on. Eventually a report was made public, and it summarized steroids and performance enhancing drug use that had occurred in baseball over the past 20-25 years. I was already in my position with the MLB at the time of the report and its recommendations. This was a very interesting and exciting time because even though I was only on the job a short time, it kind of solidified my position to oversee the drug testing procedures which have a legal and logistical component to them. It also allowed me to work with senior lawyers at the Commissioner’s office – including the now Commissioner Rob Manfred – to follow through and implement all of the recommendations that Senator Mitchell recommended. This included: changes to our drug testing policies to be negotiated with the Players’ Association; establishing an Investigations Unit; and implementing tools that would allow the League to better detect and deter performance enhancing drug use by its players. Interestingly, all of those recommendations are still in place today, but they have been slightly adjusted and changed.”
Q: What advice would you give to law students wanting to go down this road?
A: While you never want to miss an opportunity to break into the professional sports industry, there is nothing more desirable from a hiring perspective than a young, intelligent, and motivated sports fan who has real-world experience. So, irrespective of what your law school concentration may have been, as well as the classes you took, if you can spend some time working for law firms that are well known, that makes your CV look really realistic as a potential candidate. Full disclosure, it is extremely difficult to secure a job with a professional sports league or team right out of school with no real-world experience. But, if you have a law degree, keep the sports opportunities on your radar, and work for a few years to gain some top-notch experience relevant to the sports related job that you are applying for, there is a real likelihood and possibility to score a job here, which is pretty exciting.
Q: Aside from gaining some real-world experience before pivoting into the sports world, do you have any other suggestions for law students wanting to work in sports?
A: “It is certainly true that getting real life experience, being a hard worker, and having a good rapport with clients and co-workers are all things that would apply to working in professional sports. However, there is a big timing component, location component, and a luck component. If you are interested in pursuing this line of work, and the opportunity presents itself, you don’t hesitate or delay on that opportunity. You kind of have to go all in.”
Q: I am currently wearing a New York Mets shirt, so I hope this doesn’t skew your response, but what are your thoughts on the “Grimace Mets?”
A: “Haha, not at all. One of the coolest things about my job are the impressive people that have come through the labor relations department over the years. And an individual by the name of David Stearns, now President of Baseball Operations for the Mets, was my co-worker in our department a number of years ago. What the Mets have done since the ‘Grimace incident’ and in the second half of the Major League Baseball season is nothing short of “amazing.” And I know that word means a lot for Mets fans. So, we will see what the last few days here will play out with the Braves and the other teams in the NL who are vying for a Wild Card spot. But putting team affiliation aside, it is always really cool when you know somebody personally who is in a high-ranking position with a baseball team and they do well. So, I hope the success of the Mets continues.”
Thank you so much, Jon, for this wonderful opportunity. Your hard work and passion for keeping the game clean is infectious, and I know it will inspire many young lawyers to pursue their dream careers.