This week, I have been learning all about sports law. It is a little different than criminal law in that it is not as black and white. Sports law is a relatively new field and it is still developing. Many sports lawyers started out practicing a different type of law and then moved their way over to the sports world and began to specialize in it. Sports law is not just one type of law but rather a combination of types of law including labor law, contract law, antitrust law, and tort law.
Labor law essentially focuses on the relationship between the workers and their employer or their government. To apply this to sports law, I would be focusing on the relationship between players and their league or the relationship between players and their team or the relationship between players and their owner. For example, one sports organization that deals with labor law is the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). If I was a lawyer for the NFLPA, I would largely be focusing on the labor law aspect of sports law.
Contract law focuses on the rules and regulations regarding an agreement between two parties. In sports law, this would mainly be the agreement between a player and a team but it could also include the agreement between all the teams and the league.
Antitrust law is also known as competition law. Its purpose is to maintain competition by regulating any anti-competitive agency. Until a few decades ago, many sports leagues did not fall under antitrust laws because they were not considered to participate in interstate trade or commerce. Today, however, most sports leagues are subject to antitrust laws because they are considered to participate in interstate trade and commerce. Now, the only professional league that is exempt from some antitrust laws is the MLB, or Major League Baseball.
Until recently, tort law was not involved in sports law but has become increasingly more important to the field. There are many different ways tort law can be applied to sports law. For example, tort law can occur if a player intentionally harms or injures other player. Or, tort law can be used if an injured fan sues a team/owner due to the team/owner's negligence. Or, there is the possibility of tort law if a team doctor is sued for medical malpractice. Although tort law has not been present in sports law until recently, I believe it will become increasingly used.
Typically, sports law is broken down into amateur sports, professional sports, or international sports.
Amateur sports are generally high school and collegiate sports. The biggest amateur sport governing body is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). If I do decide to become a sports lawyer and work with amateur sports, it is very likely that I will be working in conjunction with the NCAA.
Professional sports are probably the most popular types of sports. The NFL, MLB, and NHL are all examples of professional sports leagues. The players in professional sports leagues make the most money and most leagues have a players association. Before I researched sports law, I envisioned it in the realm of professional sports. I obviously now recognize that sports law can be applied to more than just professional sports. However, it is the professional sports aspect that drives me towards sports law. I just think that it would be so exciting and interesting to be the lawyer for a professional sports team and be able to give them council.
International sports include the Olympics as well as the World Cup which is organized by FIFA. In 1950, the United States formed the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) which regulates the people/teams the US sends to the Olympics. Before I did my research, I had not even considered the fact that there would be international sports law. Despite that, now that I know about international sports law I think it would be a really entertaining field to go into because I would get to work with people from other countries and broaden my scope of thoughts.
I have had a really enjoyable time learning about sports law and believe it could be a type of law I want to pursue. The only hesitation I have with sports law is that it is a newer area of law. I am concerned that there many not be as many opportunities as more-developed areas of law. However, I also think it would be great if I could become one of the proponents of sports law and help to further develop it. Maybe, if I decide to pursue sports law, I could become one of the great sports lawyers.