Hot Topics in Sports Law

Catalog description

This course will explore the authority of commissioners as well as the rights and responsibilities of athletes and others in professional sports leagues and college sports. Students will explore disciplinary measures relating to on and off-field misconduct, performance enhancing and recreational drug use, and speech, as well as the impact of sports gambling, discrimination, and other issues with an emphasis on current events. Students will learn about the source and scope of a commissioner’s power, player rights when faced with disciplinary action, league collective bargaining agreement rules, and the types of punishments available. Students will be asked to think critically about the scope of a commissioner’s power in specific cases, to consider desired outcomes from multiple perspectives, and to discuss the propriety of various rules governing player, coach, owner, and fan conduct. Students will gain a basic understanding of the application of law to professional and college sports industries. Students will also learn the essential tenets of negotiation applied in a sports setting and engage in a mock negotiation.