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 →
Will Ohio State succeed in obtaining a trademark in the most commonly used word in the English language? On August 8th, 2019, Ohio State University filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for the grammatical article “THE.” Ohio State, which is officially designated by Ohio state law as “The Ohio... Continue Reading →
The UB Sports Law community wishes a fond farewell and best wishes to Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Kathy Twist. Kathy, who was an early champion of the concept of the Center for the Advancement of Sport, has had a long, illustrious career at UB. Among her many accomplishments, she was coach of the... 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 →
