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Baseball / Litigation / MLB

Pirates Settle in Foul-Ball Suit, with Net Installer as Final Defendant

The Pittsburgh Pirates have reached a confidential settlement with a woman struck by a foul ball at the Pirates’ PNC Park. Now, a jury trial will go forth under a new state court judge to determine the liability of the installer behind the allegedly defective safety net behind home plate.

As we have previously reported, the suit arises from an incident that occurred in April of 2015, when a foul ball hit the netting behind home plate, and the netting deflected or stretched far …

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Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation / NFL

Picture Imperfect: Polaris Brings Suit Against Fox Affiliate Over Photo Usage of Aaron Hernandez’s Fiancée

On November 14, 2018, Polaris Images Corp. filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Fox affiliate Tribune Broadcasting Co. Per the complaint, a Tribune-owned website published a story regarding the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez’s pregnant former fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins, and used a photograph of Jenkins therein.

According to the article, entitled “Aaron Hernandez’s fiancée Shayanna Jenkins announces pregnancy,” the caption beneath the photograph in question credits “Shayanna Jenkins Instagram.”  However, Polaris claims “Tribute did not license the photograph from plaintiff for its article, …

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Class Actions / Litigation / NCAA

NCAA: Fans “Overwhelmingly Oppose” Paying Student-Athletes

On November 9, 2018, in their closing argument and brief, the NCAA defended its rules, restricting payments for student-athletes, arguing that NCAA fans value amateurism and “overwhelmingly oppose” paying student-athletes. The NCAA argued that the rules restricting student-athlete pay ensured that student-athletes were integrated into college campuses and, at the same time, promoting amateurism, which increases the demand for college sports. According to the NCAA, if the student-athletes were paid, fans would stop watching NCAA sports.

As we have continued to cover, the …

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Concussions / Litigation / NHL

NHL Reaches Concussion Settlement with Class of Retired Players

On November 12, 2018, the NHL announced a tentative $18.9 million settlement with a class of over 300 retired NHL players. As we have previously reported, in June, 2018, former NHL players, Dan Carcillo and Nick Boynton, led a class of retired players suing the NHL claiming that they “suffered multiple serious head traumas during [their] NHL career that were not recognized, diagnosed or treated, and improperly diagnosed and treated.” Further, over the years, while the NHL has dealt with the problematic issue of …

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Baseball / Litigation / MLB

Baseball Net Installer Calls Foul, Alleging Judge’s Improper Communication

Promats Athletics LLC, the company that installed the safety net at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, filed a motion requesting a new state judge preside over the upcoming case of a women hit by a foul ball. The company contends that the judge currently assigned has conducted improper communications with the plaintiff’s attorney and is thus subject to removal from the case.

The suit arises from an incident that occurred in April of 2015, when a foul ball hit the netting behind home plate, and the netting …

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Fantasy Sports / NHL / Sports Betting

FanDuel Strikes Deal with NHL as Official Sports Betting Partner

Via joint press release, FanDuel announced its partnership with the NHL, unveiling its multi-year deal as the official daily fantasy sports partner and sports betting partner.

The partnership is not the first of its kind for the NHL, as the organization announced a comparable agreement with MGM Resorts International shortly before its FanDuel partnership.

The NHL’s strategy to cozy up with sports betting giants is a sharp turn away from its previous views on the gambling practice. Back in 2016, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated …

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Basketball / NCAA / Sponsorships

NCAA Corruption/Bribery Trial Fallout

As we previously reported, on October 24, 2018, a Manhattan federal jury convicted former Adidas executive James Gatto, business manager and aspiring sports agent Christopher Dawkins, and former Adidas consultant Merl Code of fraud charges arising out of a high-profile college basketball pay-for-play scandal. The breadth of the NCAA Corruption/Bribery Scandal rocked the NCAA. While the trial concluded with convictions, it is not likely that the story ends here. Many experts believe that various NCAA Division I Schools are now in the crosshairs of …

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Olympics

USOC Moves to Revoke USA Gymnastics’ Official Governing Body Status

On November 5, 2018, the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee (“USOC”), Sarah Hirshland, announced that the USOC moved to revoke USA Gymnastics’ status as the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics. The announcement comes after USA Gymnastics struggled during the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal. According to Hirshland, “[t]oday the United States Olympic Committee has filed a complaint … seeking to revoke [USA Gymnastics’] recognition as a member National Governing Body of the USOC.”

Reportedly, Hirshland and the USOC ultimately decided …

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General

We Need Your Vote!

Attention blog readers!

We are proud to announce that our Sports and Entertainment Law Insider blog has made it to the voting round in The Expert Institute’s 2018 Best Legal Blog Contest! Over the past month, this contest received thousands of nominations, which were then narrowed to the “most exciting, entertaining, and informative legal blogs online today.” The polls are now open – if you like our blog, please consider voting.

How it works: You can submit one vote per blog. In order to cast …

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Class Actions / Concussions / Litigation

Former Players Sue Football Helmet Manufacturer Riddell

On October 30, 2018, a putative class action lawsuit was filed by former high school and college football players. The players are suing BRG Sports, Inc., commonly known as Riddell, for its practice of “marketing, promoting, and distributing dangerous and defective football helmets.” The players argued that they sustained permanent brain and neurological injuries due to inadequate padding in the company’s helmets, which they were told would protect them.

According to the complaint, Riddell is the world’s largest football helmet manufacturer. For decades, Riddell …

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