Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Reconsidering Flood V. Kuhn, Stephen Ross

Stephen F Ross

Within the academia, two very different groups of legal scholars have devoted a great deal of attention to Flood v. Kuhn. Those specializing in sports law have either attached Flood as a ridiculous decision that improperly distinguished between baseball and other professional sports, or have praised it for waging guerrilla warfare on the idea that Section 1 of the Sherman Act should apply to intra-league arrangements by owners of the professional sports teams. Those viewing Flood through the lens of statutory interpretation perceive the decision as adhering rigidly to the principle of stare decisis; this rigidity has been both praised …

A Strategic Legal Challenge To The Unforeseen Anticompetitive And Racially Discriminatory Effects Of Baseball’S North American Draft, Stephen Ross, Michael James

Stephen F Ross

Major League Baseball (MLB) has honored a single player by retiring his number for every club. Absent special commemorations, no player will wear the number “42” in honor of the man who broke the color barrier to become the first African American to play major league baseball in the modern era: Jackie Robinson. MLB has also honored a single player—chosen from nominees from each individual club—by presenting an annual award for humanitarian service in his name; that honoree is Roberto Clemente. However, the sad reality is that if a fifteen-year-old Jackie Robinson were growing up today in South Pasadena, California, …

Book Review: Baseball And The Law: Cases And Materials, Russ Versteeg

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Just A Bit Aside, Howard Wasserman

Faculty Publications

In "Time to Drop the Infield Fly Rule and End a Common Law Anomaly," Judge Andrew Guilford and Joel Mallord offer the first cohesive scholarly critique of baseball's venerated and venerable Infield Fly Rule. They argue that the rule is grounded in outdated notions of sportsmanship and opposition to deception and that the game would be more exciting if players could be left to their own strategic and skillful devices on infield fly balls. This Response Essay builds on my previous work to argue that, properly understood, the Infield Fly Rule is justified, necessary, and appropriate in order to to …

Diamond Justice—Teaching Baseball And The Law, Edmund P. Edmonds

Journal Articles

Authors Louis H. Schiff and Robert M. Jarvis set out to fill a void in the vast array of legal teaching materials by creating Baseball and the Law: Cases and Materials, the first casebook to concentrate on “The National Pastime.” Their goal was to create a casebook that would propel the expansion of teaching law and baseball courses in law schools. By pulling together appropriate cases and primary reading material with detailed and carefully crafted notes, the authors have admirably completed this task with over 1000 pages of text to allow faculty and students in the legal academy a resource …

Foul-Ball Injury At South Bend Game Highlights Delicate Safety Balance, Ed Edmonds

NDLS in the News

Baseball teams have operated under the assumption that anyone who attends a game accepts the risk of injury from foul balls or bats—an assumption that has been upheld by courts in many states including Indiana, under the "baseball rule."

The Legacy Of Albert Spalding, The Holdouts Of Ty Cobb, Joe Dimaggio, And Sandy Koufax/Don Drysdale, And The 1994-95 Strike: Baseball's Labor Disputes Are As Linear As The Game, James R. Devine

Akron Law Review

While the individual stories of these holdouts are interesting in their own right, the import of their totality can only be seen in an historical context. The way in which major league baseball teams handled their holdouts was largely a reflection of the management style of Albert Spalding and William Hulbert, the founders of the National League. This management style continues through all three generations of these holdouts. Further, it extends into owner's dealings with the Major League Baseball Players' Association from its inception through the most recent strike. The holdouts, then, reflect a management style that has remained consistent …

A Strategic Legal Challenge To The Unforeseen Anticompetitive And Racially Discriminatory Effects Of Baseball’S North American Draft, Stephen F. Ross, Michael James Jr.

Journal Articles

Major League Baseball (MLB) has honored a single player by retiring his number for every club. Absent special commemorations, no player will wear the number “42” in honor of the man who broke the color barrier to become the first African American to play major league baseball in the modern era: Jackie Robinson. MLB has also honored a single player—chosen from nominees from each individual club—by presenting an annual award for humanitarian service in his name; that honoree is Roberto Clemente. However, the sad reality is that if a fifteen-year-old Jackie Robinson were growing up today in South Pasadena, California, …

Title Ix And Baseball: How The Contact Sports Exemption Denies Women Equal Opportunity To America's Pastime, Brittany K. Puzey

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Grounding Into A Double Standard: Understanding And Repealing The Curt Flood Act, Brett J. Butz

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This note calls for an end to Major League Baseball's statutory exemption from antitrust law for acts that are considered part of the "business of baseball." The Curt Flood Act was a Congressional mistake, the product of years of faulty analysis and absurd holdings by the Supreme Court. This note will explain how the exemption came to fruition, outline the various problems with its inception, and conclude by proposing that Major League Baseball should be subject to antitrust law, just like all other professional sports leagues.

New Direction For Team Ownership? The Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Craig A. Sharon

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

No abstract provided.

Arthur Soden's Legacy: The Origins And Early History Of Baseball's Reserve System, Edmund P. Edmonds

Edmund P. Edmonds

The article focuses on the nineteenth century evolution of the U.S. baseball reserves system. It mentions that the early history of the reserve clause establishes a relationship with sports collective bargaining agreements. It notes that its basic structure stems from a dispute between Boston owner Arthur Soden and baseball players James O'Rourke and George Wright. It also emphasizes on discipline imposed to the players who abandon their contracts to seek higher salaries from a different team.

A Most Interesting Part Of Baseball's Monetary Structure - Salary Arbitration In Its Thirty-Fifth Year, Ed Edmonds

Edmund P. Edmonds

This article explores the history and evolution of baseball's arbitration system, focusing on players with arbitration eligibility in 2009. The article also explores teams' use of the "file-and-go" strategy.

Fair Or Foul: When Does Media Accusation Of Performance Enhancing Drug Use Become Tortious?, Richard T. Ward Iii

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The Steroids Era in baseball refers to the recent period in the MLB where many players and trainers have been found guilty or been implicated in the use of performance enhancing drugs which leads to sharp increases in player talent. The stigma associated with PED use, and also any other form of cheating, has proven to be a fast track to shame in the world of Major League Baseball. This article addresses the current state of defamation law in New York and the Federal Courts by analyzing the recent statement made by Skip Bayless concerning use of Performance Enhancing Drugs …

Separation Of Sport And State: The Federal Government’S Involvement In Major League Baseball’S Drug Testing Program, Anthony F. Iliakostas

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Major League Baseball has been one of the premier major sports leagues in taking action and putting an end to the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Entering its eighth year, Major League Baseball has implemented and improved its drug-testing policy. However, with congressional hearings on the use of steroids and other drugs in baseball along with federal investigations, there is a lingering worry that the government is intervening in Major League Baseball's drug testing program. In this article, Anthony Iliakostas breaks down Major League Baseball's drug testing program and how the U.S. government has gotten involved. The article concludes …

Nearly A Century In Reserve: Organized Baseball: Collective Bargaining And The Antitrust Exemption Enter The 80'S, Nancy Jean Meissner

Pepperdine Law Review

In her comment, the author fashions a compelling argument for congressional elimination of baseball's exemption from federal antitrust laws. After noting that the exemption had been formulated in 1922 by the Supreme Court, the author explains that it has been abused by baseball club owners to create a virtual monopoly over ballplayers through the reserve system. Although the reserve system's control was somewhat diluted in 1976, with the advent of free agency and collective bargaining, club owners are currently negotiating for mandatory compensation for the loss of free agents. The resultant threat of a player's strike has served to focus …

Take Me Out To The Ballgame . . . But Bring A Helmet: Reforming The "Baseball Rule" In Light Of Recent Fan Injuries At Baseball Stadiums, Matthew J. Ludden

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

When It Hits The Fan: Will There Be Liability For The Broken Bat?, A. David Austill

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who Exempted Baseball, Anyway?: The Curious Development Of The Antitrust Exemption That Never Was, Mitchell J. Nathanson

Mitchell J Nathanson

This article takes a fresh look at baseball’s alleged antitrust exemption and explains why, after all, the exemption is alleged rather than actual. For contrary to popular opinion, this article concludes that the Supreme Court’s 1922 Federal Baseball Club decision did not exempt Organized Baseball from federal antitrust laws. Instead, the opinion was much more limited in scope and never reached the question of whether Organized Baseball should be treated differently than other, similarly situated businesses or institutions, although Organized Baseball clearly invited the Justices to make this determination in its brief to the Court. As this article discusses, the …

Gambling With The Bronx Bombers: Betting On, Against, And With The Yankees, Ronald J. Rychlak

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

The New York Yankees, arguably the most hallowed name in all of professional sports, has probably had more money wagered on the outcome of its games than any other team in any sport. Although few people today may be aware of it, the team itself has a long history of association with gamblers and gambling. The first owners of the Yankees were notorious gamblers; the team’s first captain was indicted in the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal; one Yankees’ pitcher was suspected of having thrown another Series game; one owner had ties to underworld figures in Las Vegas; another owner was …

Arthur Soden's Legacy: The Origins And Early History Of Baseball's Reserve System, Edmund P. Edmonds

Journal Articles

The article focuses on the nineteenth century evolution of the U.S. baseball reserves system. It mentions that the early history of the reserve clause establishes a relationship with sports collective bargaining agreements. It notes that its basic structure stems from a dispute between Boston owner Arthur Soden and baseball players James O'Rourke and George Wright. It also emphasizes on discipline imposed to the players who abandon their contracts to seek higher salaries from a different team.

Topps Gets Exclusive License, Leaving Upper Deck On The Bench: An Analysis Of Major League Baseball's Antitrust Exemption In The Modern Era, Sarah A. Padove

Marquette Sports Law Review

None

Hammerin’ Hank & The Golden Arm: Remembering Baseball’S Jewish Hall Of Famers, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This cover story focuses on two of baseball’s greatest players, Sandy Koufax, and Hank Greenberg. Besides describing their great talent for the game, it also chronicles the religious discrimination, taunts and abuse they had to endure for their religious beliefs, not just from the public, but occasionally from members of opposing teams as well.

Steinbrenner: The Last Lion Of Baseball, Dennis P. Hughes, Jr.

Marquette Sports Law Review

None.

Is Media Coverage Of Steroids On The Verge Of Striking Out Baseball Stars?, Nicholas L. Silvestri

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Over the last 150 years, baseball has been one of the most popular American sports. Ever since its inception in the 19th century, it has been known as our “Great American Past-Time”. As the sport of baseball has evolved and developed into the game it is today, there have been controversial scandals that have helped reshape our perceptions of baseball’s biggest stars.

Non-Relocation Agreements In Major League Baseball: Comparison, Analysis, And Best Practice Clauses, Martin J. Greenberg, Bryan W. Ward

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

They Aren't Who We Thought They Were: The Importance Of Genetic Testing In Major League Baseball To Prevent The Falsification Of Players' Ages, Laurie C. Frey

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

One Trilogy That Should Go Without A Sequel: Why The Baseball Antitrust Exemption Should Be Repealed, Brittany Van Roo

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Baseball's Moral Hazard: Law, Economics, And The Designated Hitter Rule, Dustin E. Buehler, Steve P. Calandrillo

Articles

No subject prompts greater disagreement among baseball fans than the designated hitter rule, which allows teams to designate a player to hit for the pitcher. The rule increases the number of hit batsmen, and some have suggested this effect is a result of "moral hazard," which recognizes that persons insured against risk are more likely to engage in dangerous behavior. Because American League pitchers do not bat, they allegedly are not deterred by the full cost of making risky, inside pitches—namely, retribution during their next at bat.

Using a law-and-economics approach, this Article concludes that the designated hitter rule creates …

Automatic Outs: Salary Arbitration In Nippon Professional Baseball, David L. Snyder

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.