The FBI's investigation into fraud, improper benefits and various other pay for recruit schemes rocked college basketball. It exposed a shady underground that the public largely didn't know existed, but that some insiders had known was there all along. In response, the NCAA formed the Rice Commission in order to, "gather information and expert opinions... Continue Reading →
Football has returned; the NFL kicked off Thursday night while the college season is already in full swing. Millions of people will sit down in their living rooms or local Bills bar to watch their favorite teams. Of those people, roughly 54 million people will bet on the NFL this season. Whether it's an office... Continue Reading →
Photo Credit: Matt Slocum, Associated Press The NCAA continues to assert that student-athletes are not employees, however, their rules suggest otherwise. The newest “tightening” of transfer guidelines looks just like a non-compete, which typically is used to restrict employee’s freedom. The NCAA distinguishes its product from that of professional sports by branding its participants as... Continue Reading →
Congrats to our very own Cierra Dillard, as she became the first player in WNBA history to be drafted from UB. The star combo-guard and Rochester native was drafted 20th overall by the Minnesota Lynx in Wednesday’s draft, after leading the Bulls to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament. In her final season, Dillard set... Continue Reading →
On March 25, attorney Michael Avenatti was arrested in New York outside the office of one of Nike’s lawyers. Avenatti has been charged with four counts of extortion and conspiracy for threatening to reveal alleged evidence that Nike made improper payments to high school basketball players and their families. Despite most of the immediate backlash... Continue Reading →
While some of college basketball's brightest stars prepare to take center stage in the NCAA Basketball tournament, it is important to remember why some of these players are actually there in the first place: a clear antitrust violation by the NCAA. With March Madness now in full swing, it is time to once again look... Continue Reading →
With the NCAA Basketball Tournament right around the corner, now is the perfect time to examine the legality (or illegality) of what has become one of America’s favorite obsessions: “March Madness” bracket pools. “Selection Sunday” will take place on March 17th, following its usual routine of being held on the third Sunday in March. This... Continue Reading →
The NBA has been dealing with the issue of "tanking" more than ever over the course of the last decade, and the recent success of the Philadelphia 76ers has seemed to legitimize this practice of losing games on purpose. With the prospect of Zion Williamson waiting for whatever franchise is able to land the #1... Continue Reading →
The NBA’s New System of Select Contracts Brings about More Questions than Answers for “Elite” Players. A few weeks back, in an article discussing the league’s one-year-removed rule, we briefly touched on the NBA’s introduction of Select Contracts. Introduced unexpectedly as a surprise to many, these contracts have been advertised as a “comprehensive professional path,”... Continue Reading →
In professional sports, athletes are effectively bound by the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the league. CBAs govern the decisions made by both sides, and confine the options of both athletes and management on how they respond to the issues facing their respective league. One of the biggest issues the... Continue Reading →