March 25, 2014 Celebrities / Litigation / NBA

The Shaq “Attack”

The one-time NBA superstar and basketball commentator, Shaquille O’Neal (“Shaq”), is under investigation for an incident that occurred outside Turner Studios in Atlanta, GA on March 19^th. An Atlanta news station obtained a police report detailing an alleged assault between Shaq and Robert Williams, a co-worker, outside of Turner Studios. After his 2011 retirement, Shaq signed on with Turner Sports and joined “Inside the NBA” as an NBA commentator.

According to the police report, Williams stated that Shaq “ran out of a room …

February 3, 2014 NBA

The Worm Turns: Rodman’s Latest Antics Could Land Him in Hot Water with the Feds

The bizarre friendship between former NBA star Dennis Rodman and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may land the ex-baller in legal trouble. During Rodman’s latest trip to Pyongyang earlier this month, Rodman supposedly brought a wide variety of gifts to help Kim celebrate the dictator’s 31^st birthday.

However, those gifts – which included a great deal of Jameson whiskey, European crystal, several expensive fashion items, and bottles of Rodman’s own liquor brand “Bad Ass Vodka” estimated to be worth over $10,000 – appear …

January 9, 2014 NBA

The End of the Greatest Sports Deal of All Time

It’s been called the greatest deal in sports franchise history, and now, it may finally come to an end. The NBA has long hoped to be relieved of a 1976 agreement that gave two brothers one-seventh of the visual media revenues received by four NBA teams. The agreement didn’t seem outrageous in 1976, but in 2014, that agreement has given the brothers over $300 million in media revenue. Finally, the NBA and the two brothers, Daniel and Ozzie Silna, are coming to a settlement to …

November 15, 2013 NBA

The “Greatest Sports Business Deal Of All Time” Coming to an End?

The NBA, and more specifically, four of its teams, were on the wrong side of an historic windfall. And now, they’re looking to get out of it.

When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the plan was to keep four of the league’s seven teams: the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, New York (later New Jersey and now Brooklyn) Nets and Indiana Pacers. The Virginia Squires were folded by the ABA before the end of the season due to financial problems. The Kentucky …

April 29, 2013 NBA

Jay-Z Branches Out Into Sports, Lands Cano and Cruz; Is LeBron Next?

Jay-Z has built an impressive empire as a rap mogul, and now he’s moving into sports, reaching an agreement with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents more than 800 professional athletes. Jay-Z has wasted no time making moves, signing on New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, and New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz as clients.

This move into the world of sports agency has not gone unnoticed. Cano was signed away from Scott Boras, universally regarded as baseball’s most powerful agent. And …

April 2, 2013 NBA

Heat is Off the Spurs for Resting Star Players as Class-Action Suit is Dropped

On March 29, 2013, Attorney Larry McGuinness voluntarily withdrew a putative class action lawsuit against the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. The suit had accused the team of wrongfully benching several star players (Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker) in a November 29^,2012 game against the defending NBA champion Miami heat. Plaintiffs argued that the move caused the plaintiffs (i.e. the ticket holders to the event) economic damage because they had paid premium prices to attend the proposed star-studded event but …