The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario will go ahead and hear the complaint against the Cleveland Indians over their controversial team name and logo, Chief Wahoo. Tribunal Adjudicator Jo-Anne Pickel will not defer the case brought by Douglas Cardinal in October 2016. The case is also progressing through the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). Pickel will not defer to the CHRC since the Tribunal is further along in the process. The advanced stage of the litigation in the Tribunal would make it inappropriate for Pickel …
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No Pack No! Bears Sued by Packers Fan over Fan Gear
Longtime Green Bay Packers fan Russell Beckman filed a putative class action against the Chicago Bears in Illinois federal court on Friday, June 16, 2017. Beckman is accusing the team of violating fans’ right to free speech by not allowing fans to wear clothing or gear that supports opposing teams when the fan attends any on-field event.
Beckman has owned a personal seat license at Soldier Field since 2003 but more often than not, only attends Bears games at Soldier Field when they play the …
Continue ReadingBackcheck, Forecheck … Paycheck? WHL Players Minimum Wage Class-Action Certified
An Alberta, Canada judge has allowed for the certification of a class-action against the Western Hockey League (WHL). The five U.S.-based teams are exempt from the class action since they are outside the court’s purview. Players are suing the league for back wages, overtime, and vacation pay. This suit mirrors two others that are proceeding against the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The players claim they are employees and should be paid at least minimum wage. Currently, the players receive …
Continue ReadingUpdate: Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Blocking FanDuel DraftKings Merger
U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown issued a temporary restraining order preventing DraftKings and FanDuel from completing their merger as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks a preliminary injunction.
The proposed merger would keep both websites operational. DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins will be the CEO of the merged company and FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles will become Chairman of the Board. Even though both companies will still be operating and consumers will have a choice of which to use, the FTC argues the merger will …
Continue ReadingFTC Seeks Injunction on FanDuel and DraftKings Merger
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the attorney generals for California and the District of Columbia will file a complaint to prevent the merger of FanDuel and DraftKings while the FTC is reviewing the merger process. FanDuel and DraftKings make up 95 percent of the daily fantasy sports market. The FTC argues the merger would “deprive customers of the substantial benefits of direct competition.”
The companies announced the merger in November 2016, in large part to cut their legal bills. At the time, the …
Continue ReadingeSports Multibillion Dollar Question
As one of the fastest growing industries today, eSports is starting to garner the attention of not just investors, but also gamblers. The interest in eSports from sports bettors is predictable, given that this industry generated $325 million in revenue in 2015 from merchandise, media rights, advertising, and tickets alone. In fact, according to the market research firm Eilers & Krejcik, the unregulated eSports betting market generated around $7.4 billion in betting turnover in 2016 and is expected to reach $23 billion by 2020. As …
Continue ReadingNCAA Responds to Former NIU Punters Attempt to Revive Antitrust Challenge
The NCAA has urged the Seventh Circuit to reject the appeal of former Northern Illinois University punter, Peter Deppe. As mentioned in our previous post, Deppe’s proposed class action suit, which revolves around the NCAA’s transfer rules and eligibility bylaws, was dismissed in March, 2017. In a Wednesday, June 14, 2017 brief, the NCAA voiced their opinion on Deppe’s appeal and his interpretation of a 2012 Seventh Circuit decision.
Deppe claims that the Seventh Circuit decision requires the NCAA to prove the transfer rules …
Continue ReadingNHL Trying to Eject Two Retired Players from Concussion Lawsuit
The National Hockey League is urging the Minnesota federal court to act now to remove two former players from the proposed class action. The NHL wants its bid for summary judgement for claims made by Gary Leeman and Bernie Nicholls to press on. The league argues the three-year statute of limitations bars these two players’ claims, who retired in the late 1990s. Both Leeman and Nicholls serve as class representatives of their respective classes. The NHL argues the move for summary judgement is appropriate now, …
Continue ReadingSkechers Cites Puma Ruling in Adidas Suit
On Monday, June 5, 2017, Skechers USA Inc. cited a decision in California’s Central District that refused an injunction bid by Puma in their case Puma SE v. Forever 21 Inc., which Skechers claims to be “materially indistinguishable” to their longstanding case with Adidas. The case revolves around Skechers’ design of the “Onix” and its “near identical resemblance” to the Adidas Stan Smith.
In February 2016, U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez issued an injunction, ceasing all production and sales of …
Continue ReadingUCF Kickoff Specialist and YouTube Star Violating NCAA Rules?
The most popular football player on campus is usually not the kickoff specialist, but that might be the case at the University of Central Florida. UCF kicker Donald De La Haye YouTube channel has over 53,000 subscribers. Several of his videos have over 300,000 views. This large following has allowed De La Haye to receive profit from ads that run in conjunction with his videos. The problem is De La Haye is a student-athlete and NCAA bylaw 12.4.4 prohibits student-athletes from using their names, …
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