Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, and Research — Topical Discussion
General note: This is first in a series of topical discussions written for the public, with special attention to the sports media. Feedback from reporters are particularly welcome, either directly to Steve Ross at sfr10@psu.edu or via my colleague Malcolm Moran, Knight Professor of Sports Journalism at Penn State.]
Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, Offers Analysis of Player Recruitment Scandal
- “Exploiting Kids: The Scandal in Agent Recruiting of Athletically-Gifted Teens” details the conflicting pressures on O.J. Mayo, a young athlete of professional basketball promise who played collegiate basketball for one year before his NBA career. Published today on the Institute’s Web site, the analysis details the potential liability under state and federal law of individuals and organizations that may have exploited Mayo before and during his collegiate career. The authors suggest reforms to the NCAA Rules that would reduce exploitation of young athletes.
“The whole process of recruitment of talented student-athletes by agents in the shadow of NCAA rules creates many opportunities for young men to be exploited by adults seeking their own financial gain and often leads to unwise decisions on agent selection at critical points in young careers,” said Stephen Ross, law professor at Penn State and one of the paper’s authors.
The analysis was co-authored with Raynell Brown, associate director of student services at Penn State Law and licensed National Basketball Players Association agent , and Penn State Law student Douglas Webster ’10.
Access the paper.
Federal Judge Issues Injunction Blocking NFL Discipline in Positive-Drug Test Case
- Last year, Judge Paul Magnuson of the United States District Court in Minneapolis issued an injunction barring the NFL from disciplining five players who had tested positive for the diuretic bumetanide and who were suspended pursuant to the NFL's Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances. (The drug itself is not performance-enhancing, but has been found to mask the presence of performance-enhancing steroids). The court concluded that the balanced of equities favored the players because the NFL's own drug officials were aware that the over-the-counter supplement ingested by the players contained the banned substance, but failed to disclose this to the players, several of whom had called the NFL Hotline set up precisely for this purpose. The court further concluded that the NFL's chief lawyer, Jeffrey Pash, who decided the case as provided for in the labor agreement with the players' union, showed bias in adhering to a policy of strict liability for all positive drug tests.
This decision has far-reaching legal and policy implications.
Read the background paper.
Read Judge Magnuson's opinion.
Empirical Research on Racial Bias in NBA Referree's Calls Sparks Debate
- A recent New York Times article reported on a study by an economist and a graduate student that purported to find racial bias among NBA referees.
