SportsWise: A Podcast About Sports and the Law

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I dive into one of the craziest, most sensational sports stories in my lifetime– the PGA Tour, LIV Tour, DP Tour, Saudi Government saga. Joining me to help make sense of it all is one of the dominant voices in antitrust law- Matt Stoller, the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project, the author of the book Goliath:  The Hundred Year War betw...

Send us Fan Mail The Sports Law Rundown returns with Eric Blevins.  Everything we think you need to know about sports and the law.  You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the sports law world.  Topics include: -- The latest in college sports -- BYU vs. Built Bar! -- The New Orleans Saints Krewe vs. the Tampa Bay Bucs Krewe! -- Bally Sports vs. MLB! -- Shaq vs. A Process Server -- Bram Van Pol...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to the Sports Law Rundown: everything we think you need to know about the latest developments in sports and the law.  On this episode we tackle: -- College athletes as employees? -- NIL developments in Congress?? -- The Ivy League vs...Duke? -- The return of EA Sports College Football -- Brett Favre vs. Pat McAfee -- The LIV Golf Tour -- The Sale of the Washington Com...

Send us Fan Mail Ross Dellenger, national college football writer for Sports Illustrated, joins the pod to talk all things college football, including the big announcement about the EA Sports College Football game (now with players being paid for the use of their names and likenesses!), conference realignment,  the premature end of the ACC, NIL enforcement , college sports gambling, and the future...

Send us Fan Mail The Sports Law Rundown is back-- Everything I think you need to know about the latest in the sports law-ish world over the last two weeks, including: College sports gambling scandal Big NCAA developments Name, Image, and Likeness updates Brett Favre vs. Pat McAfee Barstool Sports vs. Michael Rapaport Charles Oakley vs. James Dolan The future of sports television The PGA Tour Trans...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I'm joined by Nancy Hogshead-Makar, 4-time Olympic medalist swimmer, law professor, civil rights lawyer, Executive Director of Champion Women, and one of Sports Illustrated's "most influential people in the history of Title IX." She joins the pod to talk about arguably the most litigated, legislated, and debated topic in the sports world right...

Send us Fan Mail We're introducing a new segment on the podcast-- a rundown of some of the biggest issues in the sports law world over the past week. Each week I'll be joined by a special guest to help me break down the latest developments and what they all mean. On this episode, I'm joined by my colleague, Eric Blevins, the Sports Law Program Manager at the Tulane Center for Sport....

Send us Fan Mail The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, is back to discuss the latest developments on the potential employee status and unionization of college athletes.  Ms. Abruzzo breaks down what to expect next in the USC/Pac-12/NCAA NLRB case and what this all might mean for the future of college athletes and college sports.   Thank you for listening! For...

Send us Fan Mail I'm joined on this episode by Troy Dannen, Athletic Director for the Cotton Bowl-champion Tulane Green Wave.  Troy is one of the most thoughtful, well-connected, influential, and busiest athletic directors in the country and he has been on every major NCAA committee over the last few years. He has been a leading voice during this transformative period in college athletics. On...

Send us Fan Mail The pod is back! On this episode, we tackle the latest developments in the long and winding road to potential employee status for college athletes.  We’ll break down the oral arguments in the Johnson v. NCAA case— with the 2 lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, Paul McDonald and Mike Willemin—and what the case might mean for the future of college sports.  We’ll also look at the recent...

Send us Fan Mail Earlier this summer,  a Supreme Court case about a high school football coach praying at the 50-yard line ignited a fierce debate about freedom of religion and expression.  A majority of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the coach and held that the Constitution protected his right to pray on the field after the game.  Proponents of the ruling  say it’s a victory for freedom of r...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I discuss all things baseball and the law with Evan Drellich, Senior Writer for The Athletic; Chelsea Janes, National Baseball Writer, Washington Post; and Bill Shaikin, reporter for the LA Times.  We cover the future of the MLB antitrust exemption, the international draft, Trevor Bauer, and much more! Thank you for listening! For the latest in sports law news and...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, I'm joined by Ben Meiselas, prominent civil rights and sport lawyer, attorney and business partner of Colin Kaepernick, co-founder of Meidas Touch, an independent pro-democracy media network, and an advisor to the Hockey Diversity Alliance. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, Nazem Kadri told the international television audience that &...

Send us Fan Mail This episode tackles a basic question that could have a massive impact on the future of college sports-- are college athletes employees?  I'm joined by Paul McDonald, the attorney currently leading the fight for college athletes to be classified as employees,  We discuss why Paul thinks his current lawsuit—Johnson v NCAA—will be successful and lead to employee status for coll...

Send us Fan Mail Rusty Hardin, the lawyer representing embattled Cleveland Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson, joins the pod to talk about the possible discipline he is facing from the NFL, the 22 sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him, why the possible trade with Dolphins fell through, why the trade with the Browns went through, the legal and PR strategy he has used to defend Watson and othe...

Send us Fan Mail Rusty Hardin, the lawyer representing embattled Cleveland Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson, joins the pod to talk about the possible discipline he is facing from the NFL, the 22 sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him, and the legal and PR strategy he has used to defend Watson and other high profile athletes, including Roger Clemens.    Thank you for listening! For the lates...

Send us Fan Mail Jim Quinn, the legendary sports lawyer,  has served as counsel for every major professional sports players union in the country—including the players associations for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS. Jim and I discuss the lessons learned from MLB 's first lockout after more than 25 years of labor peace, how he is trying to fight MLB and its exemption for antitrust law in the...

Send us Fan Mail Brian Flores' lawyers-- Douglas Wigdor and Michael Willemin-- join me to offer their perspective on Flores' landmark racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and to break down the latest news and developments in the case, including: 1)  Why they believe Flores has a strong case; 2)  What Flores is hoping to accomplish with his lawsuit; 3)  How they claim the Dolphin...

Send us Fan Mail This week I’m joined by two very special guests to help me break down Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL, NY Giants, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins, racial discrimination in the NFL, and the good, bad, and ugly of the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Joining me to discuss are: Jim Rooney , author of  "A Different Way to Win," and son of Dan Rooney, the driving force behind (and...

Send us Fan Mail Michael McCann, legal analyst for Sportico, rejoins pod for the fastest 40 minutes in sports law.  We run through the hottest issues:  the Major League Baseball Lockout, the lawsuit seeking $6 billion against the Jets and Giants for…playing in New Jersey, college athletes and their fight for employee status, the latest challenge to Major League Baseball's 100-year old antitru...

Send us Fan Mail This episode takes a deep dive into the latest developments in the wild and rapidly changing world of  college sports, including the possibility of college athlete unions, the latest NIL news, the next possible domino to fall in the fight for greater college athlete rights, and the new "National Champions" movie.  The special guests on the pod are Jason Stahl, founder of...

Send us Fan Mail College sports have been in the crosshairs of federal and state legislation and antitrust litigation for the last few years, and a new challenge to the status quo has emerged.  Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, recently released a memo that concludes that scholarship college football players at FBS schools are employees.  She also explains th...

Send us Fan Mail Michael McCann, legal analyst for Sportico, joins to talk about the wild present and even wilder future of college sports.  What can we expect to happen over the next several months, and what is the future for college athlete name, image, and likeness rights, college sports video games, pay for play, and the Fletch reboot. Thank you for listening! For the latest in sports law news...

Send us Fan Mail A unanimous Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA and held that some of their restrictions on college athlete benefits are illegal under antitrust law.  Justice Kavanaugh added a scathing concurring opinion and headlines across the country pronounced that the NCAA is near its death as an organization.   What does the case mean? Is this the beginning of the end for the NCAA? What ha...

Send us Fan Mail Nina Totenberg, the legendary, groundbreaking, pioneering, award-winning and beloved long-time legal affairs correspondent for NPR joins me to share her perspective on the looming NCAA v. Alston decision , her incredible career, and her take on the significant shift in the Supreme Court.   Thank you for listening! For the latest in sports law news and analysis, you can follow Gabe...