February 18, 2020 Litigation / NFL / Rights

Ex-NFL Player Tries to Take Marijuana De-Scheduling Lawsuit to U.S. Supreme Court

Ex-NFL player Marvin Washington and a group of medical marijuana patients told the Second Circuit that they will attempt to get their marijuana de-scheduling lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2017, the patients sued the DEA, arguing that marijuana was improperly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. Schedule I drugs, which include heroin and LSD, are treated by the DEA as having a high potential for abuse and no clinical value. The patients alleged that the DEA’s …

January 9, 2020 Contract / Litigation / NFL

St. Louis Returns to Supreme Court, Argues That Rams Lawsuit Does Not Belong in Arbitration

The city of St. Louis and its stadium authority told the U.S. Supreme Court that it should not take an appeal filed by the Los Angeles Rams and their owner, Stan Kroenke. The city argues that the Rams’ relocation lawsuit belongs in court.

In April 2017, the city and county of St. Louis joined the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority in a lawsuit against the Rams, Kroenke, and the NFL. The St. Louis entities claimed that the defendants failed to follow NFL …

October 11, 2019 Contract / Litigation / NFL

St. Louis Stadium Authority Tells Supreme Court: Don’t Further Delay Rams Move Suit

The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that there is no reason for the court to halt its lawsuit against the Los Angeles Rams and owner Stan Kroenke.

Last week, the Rams and Kroenke asked Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to halt the case while they petition the Supreme Court to intervene. While the St. Louis Authority stated that the Rams and Kroenke may continue to pursue their supreme court petition, they argued that the court …

October 10, 2019 Basketball / Gambling / Hockey / NBA / NHL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

Washington D.C. Arena Will Be America’s First Sports Venue with Sportsbook

Capital One Arena, the home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, is about to become the first major sports venue in the United States to have a sportsbook.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the teams and the arena, announced a partnership with sports betting operator William Hill US. The sportsbook will span multiple floors and be accessible to both non-ticketholders and ticketholders for certain events. Expected to open in 2020, the sportsbook will be open year-round and is accessible to the public from …

August 7, 2018 High School

Football Coach Suspended for On-Field Prayer Gets High-Profile Support While Awaiting Supreme Court Writ

On August 1^st, Bobby Bowden, retired Florida State University football coach, submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in support of Joseph Kennedy’s appeal to allow the high school coach to pray with his football players on the field immediately after games. Bowden argued that denying Kennedy the opportunity for on-field prayer is an infringement on religious freedom.

As we have previously reported, Bremerton School District suspended Kennedy in 2015 after Kennedy disobeyed the public school district’s ban on his …

April 12, 2017 NCAA

NCAA Argues O’Bannon Win Insufficient for a Grant of $42 Million in Attorneys’ Fees

The NCAA has moved for the Ninth Circuit to deny a $42 million attorney’s fees request regarding the underlying litigation over rules barring student-athletes from receiving compensation for their names, images, and likeness, as the NCAA alleged the win was only partial, and thus, such a large award is inappropriate.

As background, a California district court issued an injunction, which prevented the NCAA from capping student-athletes financial aid amounts below the full cost of attendance, and that student-athletes could receive up to $5,000 per …

March 1, 2017 NCAA

O’Bannon Attorneys Attempt to Cash In with the Ninth Circuit

On February 16, 2017, attorneys for the student-athletes in the infamous O’Bannon case argued in front of the Ninth Circuit that they are entitled to over $42 million in attorney’s fees. The attorney’s obtained an injunction from the district court that the NCAA could not cap student-athlete aid packages at below the full cost of attendance, and that student-athletes could receive up to $5,000 per year in cash payments for use of their name, image, and likeness. However, the appellate court reversed the district court’s …

Stay Where You Are: Supreme Court Denies Premature Appeal in Redskins Case

On October 3, 2016, the Supreme Court rejected a long-shot appeal from the Washington Redskins, refusing to hear their case prior to the Fourth Circuit’s ruling. The team had attempted the rare “certiorari before judgment” because it wanted its case heard alongside The Slants’ similar case, which was accepted by the court on September 29.

Like the Redskins’ case, the band argued that the board’s refusal to trademark the band name “The Slants” violated its right to free speech. Though the Patent and Trademark …

August 10, 2016 Litigation / NCAA

NCAA Unhappy with O’Bannon Support in Antitrust Suit

Following the Ninth Circuit decision that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) violated antitrust laws by denying students compensation for the use of their likeness, the NCAA petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its appeal. In an unexpected turn of events in the O’Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit, the NCAA is arguing that O’Bannon is secretly in favor of the NCAA bid.

In the Ninth Circuit ruling, the court in essence maintained that student-athletes should be compensated for the use of their name and likeness. However, …

July 11, 2016 NCAA

O’Bannon Requests Supreme Court Kick First Amendment Question

While the O’Bannon appeal from the Ninth Circuit awaits a response from the Supreme Court, both sides have continued to strategically downplay the opposition’s arguments. Most recently, O’Bannon filed a July 1, 2016 brief advising the Supreme Court not to consider whether the Ninth Circuit should have barred the antitrust suit over compensation for athletes’ images and likenesses on First Amendment grounds. O’Bannon argues that the constitutional argument is not a central issue to the case.

O’Bannon, on behalf of the former NCAA athletes, has …