NCAA Program Allows “Exceptional” Athletes to Hedge Against Loss of Future Earning Potential

“Prediction is Very Difficult, Especially about the Future” – Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr may not have had sports in mind when he said this but, yes, predicting the future is hard and that is exactly what makes sports so exciting. Whether it’s the big, unexpected play with only seconds left on the clock or a Cinderella story at a National Championship – unpredictability is why we watch the game. Despite the difficulty, we like to predict the future of star athletes. One big question …

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NCAA Returns Favor, Files Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania Over Bill 187 Targeting Penn State Fines

In the continuing soap opera that has emerged from the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) filed its own lawsuit in late February against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and state treasurer Rob McCord; auditor general Eugene DePasquale; and the chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Mark R. Zimmer. This suit comes just over one month after the Governor’s own lawsuit against the NCAA for the crippling sanctions-including a $60 million fine-the NCAA imposed on Penn State …

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The Fight Over Legalized Sports Betting Begins

In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, 26 USC 3701, to ban sports gambling outside states where it was already established (Nevada, and to much lesser extents, Delaware, Montana and Oregon) as of the time of the statute. In 2012, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a law allowing for wagering on the outcome of sporting events at racetracks and at Atlantic City casinos, and Governor Chris Christie signed that into law. The four major North American sports leagues, plus the …

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New Jersey Enacts New Social Media Privacy Bill Affecting Student Athletes

In December 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law “A-2879” which will have a direct impact on an the accessibility of student-athlete social media accounts (what the act terms “social-networking websites”) by employees at institutions of higher learning. The New Jersey bill prohibits any public or private institution of higher education in New Jersey from the following: (read the complete act by clicking here).

  • Requiring a student or applicant for admission to provide or disclose any username or password, or in any
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NCAA Botches Miami Investigation

The NCAA’s seemingly never-ending probe of the University of Miami football and basketball programs took a bizarre turn on Wednesday, as the governing body admitted that it improperly obtained information via the attorney of former booster, and convicted felon, Nevin Shapiro. The NCAA admitted to hiring Mr. Shapiro’s attorney, Maria Elena Perez, to depose witnesses in his bankruptcy case.

The NCAA does not have subpoena power, and thus may have gained information that would not have otherwise been available through Ms. Perez’s representation of Mr. …

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Updates on Penn State Litigation

  • In Mike McQueary’s civil suit against Penn State for retaliation in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Penn State filed a motion to stay the case pending the resolution of parallel criminal cases against three of the school’s former administrators. The judge denied the motion, reasoning that while there may be common witnesses (the administrators), there are no common issues to warrant a stay. The focus of the criminal cases, said the judge, is what the administrators knew about Sandusky’s crimes when they testified
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Judge Grants Jerry Sandusky’s Motion for Post-Trial Evidentiary Hearing

Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky was already convicted on 45 counts related to child molestation and was sentenced to 30-60 years. The trial judge has now granted Sandusky’s motion for a post-trial evidentiary hearing. Sandusky is seeking to overturn the verdict or obtain a new trial on the grounds that his lawyers did not have enough time to prepare for trial. The judge brought the case to trial about seven months after Sandusky’s arrest. The defense attorneys claim this violated Sandusky’s right to due process because …

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Former Penn State VP Intends to Sue Former General Counsel for Malpractice

The Penn State ugliness just keeps getting uglier. Last week, former Penn State vice president Gary Schultz filed a writ of summons indicating his intent to sue Penn State’s former general counsel Cynthia Baldwin for legal malpractice. The writ does not provide specifics about what Schultz’s allegations against Baldwin will be. But the allegations in the forthcoming lawsuit will probably go something like this: Schultz was called to testify before a grand jury in 2011. Baldwin was Schultz’ lawyer at the grand jury proceeding. Baldwin …

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Penn State Cover-Up Cases Delayed so that the Court Can Analyze Attorney-Client Privilege Issues

Due to issues concerning attorney-client privilege, Pennsylvania judges postponed a preliminary hearing and a trial in the Penn State sexual abuse cover-up cases. The criminal trial of Penn State’s former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley was scheduled to begin next month. They are charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. There was also supposed to be a preliminary hearing this week in a separate case against Schultz, Curley, and former Penn State president Graham Spanier in which …

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Update: Penn State Seeks Stay of McQueary Suit

On Monday, October 22, 2012, Penn State filed a motion to stay former assistant football coach Mike McQueary’s whistleblower and defamation lawsuit.  McQueary’s suit alleges wrongdoing by former Penn State athletics director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz.  Curley and Schultz allegedly failed to report child abuse after McQueary told them he saw Jerry Sandusky raping a boy in a shower.  McQueary testified about this to a grand jury, and then Penn State allegedly fired him as a result.  Curley and Schultz are …

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