Sports Law: Emerging Issues in Professional and Amateur Sports

Catalog description

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for a sports team or practice law in the sports industry? This course provides an overview of significant legal issues in professional and amateur sports. We will examine issues present in professional sports leagues, intercollegiate athletics, international sports competition and the Olympic movement. Topics include sports integrity issues (e.g., gambling, cheating, performance-enhancing drugs), labor relations and collective bargaining, arbitration and player discipline, antitrust laws and their impact on sports, the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics, and equity in sports. In addition to reading assignments and class discussion, this course will feature guest speakers from the sports industry. Grades will be based on attendance, class participation, oral presentation, and either short written assignments (Section 01) or a longer independent research paper for R-credit (Section 02). After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from Section 01 into Section 02, which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.