The National Field Hockey Coaches Association condemned Saturday's events: “The optics and the messaging to every field hockey program and to every field hockey player are that while they matter, they don't matter more than pre-game football festivities,” the statement reads. “We see this as a terrible message being communicated to female student-athletes in this... Continue Reading →
Fireworks Ensue after D1 Field Hockey Forced to Yield the Field
Google Earth Pro image of Murphy-Mellis Field, home of Kent State Field Hockey Disrespectful. Infuriating. Grossly unfair. Just plain wrong. The messages from my five daughters and former students poured in as news spread of an inconceivable happening at Kent State this weekend. Apparently, an extraordinarily hard-fought D1 women’s field hockey contest between Temple and... Continue Reading →
Farewell and thank you to a UB Icon
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 →
SKIP DAY: WATCH THE US WOMEN’S SOCCER MATCH!
U.S. Women's Soccer is imploring Americans to skip work Friday at 3 pm to watch their epic match against host nation France. Step up, America. This is a big deal. Their plea: "We kindly ask that you give every employee the day so that they can eat a hearty lunch, get emotionally ready, bust out... Continue Reading →
IS NIKE’S CONTROVERSY OVER SPONSORING PREGNANT ATHLETES A VIOLATION OF EMPLOYMENT LAW?
Allyson Felix, six-time Olympic gold medalist Photo Credit: Fleet Feet Sports Less than two weeks ago, Nike-sponsored Olympian runners Alysia Montaño and Kara Goucher broke their nondisclosure agreements with Nike to make their stories about Nike sponsorship public. More specifically, these women opened up about discriminatory and unfair treatment by Nike during and immediately after... Continue Reading →
When $10 Million isn’t Enough…
Disturbing and heartbreaking. Those are the words NBA commissioner Adam Silver used to describe the just-released report on systemic misconduct in the Dallas Mavericks organization. Those words do not go far enough. I’d suggest inexcusable and unacceptable. The report is the end result of a months-long investigation into allegations of rampant sexual harassment and mistreatment... Continue Reading →
In tennis, “every coach coaches” but in today’s US Open Championship, Serena Williams was penalized for it
Chair umpire discretion can be a blessing and a curse. For Serena (and Naomi Osaka), unfortunately it was the latter. The 2018 US Open Women's Final was explosive, and not just because Serena Williams lost what would have been her 24th Grand Slam to a 20-year-old who had never won one. This evening, Serena lost... Continue Reading →
MSU Investigation Highlights Limits and Failings of NCAA Discipline
The NCAA was founded in 1906 to protect the physical well-being of its athletes. In the past few years, hundreds of women have come forward to say they were sexually assaulted by former Michigan State team doctor Larry Nassar. In January, Nasser, who also worked as a physician for USA gymnastics, was sentenced to 40-to-175... Continue Reading →
Personal Foul: The NFL Washington* Cheerleading Squad & The Personal Conduct Policy
It's been a roller coaster week for advocates of women in the sports industry. Over the weekend, it was revealed that women employees at Nike fought back against a company-wide culture of sexual harassment, culminating in the dismissal of six top level male executives. Shortly thereafter, aspiring and current women sports executives cheered the news... Continue Reading →
