SportsWise: A Podcast About Sports and the Law

Send us Fan Mail This episode previews the oral arguments in the NCAA v. Alston case—the first case involving college sports to reach the U.S. Supreme Court since the landmark NCAA v. Board of Regents case in 1984.  Alston could determine the fate of the NCAA’s amateurism model and fundamentally change college sports forever.  Or, at least until Congress gets involved.  The episode includes previo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode I'm joined by Katie Hnida, the first woman to play in and score points in an NCAA Division I football game.  Katie and I talk about her path to playing college football at the highest level, why she enjoys the "few seconds of panic" that come with being a kicker, the highs and lows of her experience being a college football pioneer, including the sex...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features a conversation with two legal heavyweights-- Chase Strangio and Neena Chaudhry.  Chase is Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU and has successfully litigated a number of  cases on behalf of LGBTQ people over the last several years, including a landmark victory in the US Supreme Court last summer.  Chase was named to Time Magazine’s List of 10...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. David Chao, aka Pro Football Doc, the former team doctor of the San Diego Chargers for 17 years, joins the pod to look at some of the thorny medical, legal and ethical issues that have come up in high profile NFL injury  cases, discuss his transition from NFL team doctor to social media doctor and injury guru, talk about how his work might transform sports gambling and fantasy...

Send us Fan Mail Legendary sports lawyer Jeffrey Kessler joins the pod to talk about the upcoming battle in the Supreme Court over college athlete compensation limits, the US women’s soccer players fight for equal pay, how he is partly responsible for the misery of Jets fans, and how bumping into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the unlikeliest of places changed his career.  And  Jeffrey is probably the mos...

Send us Fan Mail Amy Trask, former CEO of the Raiders, current analyst for CBS Sports. author of "You Negotiate Like a Girl," Chairman of the board of the Big3 , and Queen of Twitter joins the pod to discuss the unique legacy and leadership style of Al Davis, her approach to negotiation, business relationships, and social media, the fractured relationship between the NFL and the NFL Play...

Send us Fan Mail The Commissioners of the Big East (Val Ackerman), Big 12 (Bob Bowlsby) and Ivy League (Robin Harris) join to discuss the decisions to return to play (or not to play) college football and basketball, the future of name, image and likeness rights for college athletes, and the possibility of the Power 5 conferences splitting off from the NCAA. Thank you for listening! For the latest...

Send us Fan Mail Journalist and author Melissa Korn joins the pod to tackle the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, arguably the biggest non-political scandal of the century.   Melissa is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and co-author of " Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit and the Making of the College Admissions Scandal," which was published earlier this year.  The b...

Send us Fan Mail Legendary sports lawyer Jeff Mishkin, outside counsel for the NCAA, joins the pod to take a deep dive into the NCAA’s ongoing legal battle over the amateurism model and the limits on athlete compensation.  Jeff represents the NCAA in the Alston v. NCAA case, which might end up in the Supreme Court next year.  In addition to his work with the NCAA, Jeff has been the outside counsel...

Send us Fan Mail Rich Eisen, longtime NFL Network host and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor, and Cousin Sal (21:50), co-host of Fox Sports’ Bet Live and the Guess the Lines Podcast with Bill Simmons, join the pod to discuss the future of sports media, the impact of legalized gambling on the NFL, sports in the time of covid, the misery of being a NY Jets fan, and much, much more.    Thank you for li...

Send us Fan Mail Join Professor Gabe Feldman and his very special guest for the second part of a series that explains the legal issues underlying the craziness in college sports to help you better understand where college sports may be headed.  We cover the fight for college athlete rights, name, image, and likeness issues and the potential return of the NCAA video games, Congress's interest...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Jay Bilas, ESPN’s lead college basketball analyst, former Duke basketball star, and lawyer. Jay joins me to talk all things college sports, the NCAA’s ongoing legal battles, what he would do to fight for college athlete rights if he were playing at Duke today, college basketball in a bubble, how he dragged Barney the Dinosaur into court, and closes with his b...

Send us Fan Mail Join Prof. Gabe Feldman for the first part of a 2-part series explaining the legal issues going on behind the scenes in college sports.  The NCAA has canceled all fall sports championships. The Ivy League, Division II and Division III shut down weeks ago.  The Big 10 and the Pac 12 have canceled their football seasons. The ACC, SEC, and Big 12 are still playing. For now.  Some foo...

Send us Fan Mail The NFL and college football are set to return soon.  But should they?  Are we experimenting with college athletes’ lives? What can we expect when (or if) the seasons start?  Who has the higher BMI—Derrick Henry or Donald Trump? Two of the leading medical experts in the world—Dr. Thom Mayer, Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, and Dr. Zach Binney, Epidemiologist and...

Send us Fan Mail De Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA, and Dr. Chris Howard, President of Robert Morris University and member of the Knight Commission, join me for a conversation about the return of the NFL, the battle for college athlete rights, approaches to increasing diversity in NFL front offices and on college campuses, colleges cutting sports, and broader issues of race, sports, and so...

Send us Fan Mail Jessica Berman and I discuss the decision to cancel and restart a pro sport league season in the middle of a pandemic, how leagues are handling social justice issues, and whether Dippin' Dots is truly the ice cream of the future.   Thank you for listening! For the latest in sports law news and analysis, you can follow Gabe Feldman on twitter @sportslawguy .