LATEST INSIGHTS

Litigation / NHL

Former NHL Enforcer Michael Peluso Goes After His Old Teams for Millions in Head Injury Suit

Back in April, Michael Peluso, former NHL “enforcer,” filed suit against the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, and the team’s insurance companies for intentionally hiding the dangers he faced from continued head injuries arguing that his claims fall outside of workers’ compensation (learn more on injury claims and compensation from this weblink). He argues that a newly discovered medical report shows that the teams knew of the risks of further head injuries, but kept putting him back on the ice.

Peluso specifically alleges …

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NFL

Ezekiel Elliott Will Stay on the Field for Now

U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant ruled on Monday, September 18, 2017, that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot’s suspension will remain on hold, allowing Elliot to continue to play. Judge Mazzant, the same judge who originally granted the preliminary injunction freezing the suspension, has held the injunction will remain in place because the “NFL deprived the NFLPA the right to present…any evidence relevant to the [arbitration] hearing.” Mazzant wrote that “the court still has a role to play in reviewing arbitral awards coming from …

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NCAA

Ninth Circuit Refuses Reconsideration of NCAA No-Felons Rule

On September 11, 2017, the Ninth Circuit refused to reconsider its ruling that the NCAA could continue its policy excluding convicted felons from coaching in NCAA youth basketball tournaments. The denial of reconsideration stems from a lawsuit brought by Dominic Hardie, a youth basketball coach, who had a drug-related felony from 2001.

Hardie sued the NCAA in February 2013 claiming that the NCAA had abandoned a policy that forgave nonviolent felonies after seven years. According to Hardie’s brief, African-Americans are more than three times …

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Concussions / NFL

NFL Players’ Counsel Demand Answers from Attorney in Concussion Suit for Alleged Misrepresentations

On September 12, 2017, class counsel for former NFL players in the concussion suit against the NFL stated that an attorney made communications about the settlement program to class members that may have resulted in them taking action against their self-interest. The suit against the NFL for negligently handling the relationship between Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and repeated head trauma sustained by the former players’ profession resulted in a settlement that was approved in April 2015. The settlement could result in paying out more than …

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NBA

Charles Oakley Sues Knicks Owner for Madison Square Ejection

On September 12, 2017, Charles Oakley, former power forward for the New York Knicks in the 1980s and 1990s, sued Knicks owner, James Dolan, for allegedly humiliating him when he was kicked out of Madison Square Garden and labeled an alcoholic. Also named in the suit are Madison Square Garden Co. and other related entities. On February 8, 2017, Oakley was kicked out of a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, which Oakley alleged was for no good reason. Security guards told Oakley to leave …

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NFL

Will the NFL be Able to Enforce Ezekiel Elliott’s Six-Game Suspension this Season?

The battle between the NFL and Dallas Cowboys running back, Ezekiel Elliott, continues. The NFL has now filed an emergency stay demand with the Fifth Circuit to make Elliott serve his six-game domestic violence suspension this season, following a warning the NFL made to Texas Federal Judge Amos Mazzant if he did not rule on the NFL’s stay bid by the end of Thursday. Judge Mazzant put Elliott’s suspension on hold after he found Elliott’s arbitration process was fundamentally unfair.

The league is now arguing …

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Fantasy Sports / Litigation

DraftKings and FanDuel Agree to Pay $2.6 Million to End Massachusetts Attorney General Investigation

On September 7, 2017, DraftKings and FanDuel, two daily fantasy sports platforms, agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle the Massachusetts investigation into their unfair and deceptive practices. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office did not state what the violations were, but the fines are the result of a 2015 investigation into the two companies’ business operations.

In its 2015 investigation the Attorney General’s Office noted that consumers did not have adequate protections from the websites’ operators and more regulation was needed. This led to the …

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NFL

Legal Battle Between the NFL and Ezekiel Elliott Continues

The court battle between the NFL and the NFLPA over Dallas Cowboy running back, Ezekiel Elliott’s, six-game domestic violence suspension continues when the League appealed the preliminary injunction that was awarded to Elliott on Friday, September 8, 2017. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant issued the preliminary injunction which would not let the NFL enforce Elliott’s suspension until the case went through the court system. Mazzant wrote, “based upon the preliminary injunction standard, the Court finds, that Elliott did not receive a fundamentally fair hearing, necessitating …

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NFL

NFL Tries Again to Enforce Ezekiel Elliot’s Suspension Before Another Football Sunday

The NFL is attempting to quicken its appeal process of a federal judge’s injunction that reversed Dallas Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliot’s six-game domestic violence suspension. Last week, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant issued a preliminary injunction to stop Elliot’s suspension, holding that his labor arbitration was fundamentally unfair. The NFL then immediately appealed that ruling to the Fifth Circuit and asked Judge Mazzant for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction. In this response, the NFL told Judge Mazzant it would quickly immediately go …

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Litigation

Conor McGregor Taking a Hard Hit; Sued Over Out of Control Press Conference

UFC star Conor McGregor is being sued by a man who alleges he suffered injuries during a UFC press conference last year in Las Vegas. The man claims he was hit in the back by a can of a Monster Energy that McGregor threw during the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference in August 2016. At this conference, McGregor and Nate Diaz got into a fight that involved objects being thrown all around the MGM Grand’s David Copperfield Theater. During the fight, McGregor started throwing water …

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