Sports Law
The
practice of sports law often may involve various and diverse areas of the law such as contracts, antitrust, and
torts. Sports Law is typically divided into three main venues of competition: amateur, professional and international.
It is sometimes difficult to make the distinction between a professional and amateur athlete. An amateur (student athlete)
will often attend college with the assistance of scholarships or other forms of compensation. Further, it is possible that
an athlete may be classified as an amateur by one organization, although he or she may not be defined as an amateur under
the determination guidelines of another organization. However, the general principle is that a professional athlete is involved
in the sport as a vocation while the amateur athlete is participating in the sport as an avocation.
Amateur
Sports
Amateur sports may encompass a broad range of athletic activities ranging from high
school athletics to intercollegiate competition or to international events. There are many different organizations and governing
bodies that manage athletic activities and establish the rules in terms of both eligibility and competition. Courts traditionally
have refrained from interfering with the actions of these groups as long as their rules are reasonably applied.
One
of the most prominent of these organizations is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which serves as the governing
body for intercollegiate sports and consists of more than 1000 member colleges and universities. The United States Supreme
Court has suggested that the eligibility rules of the NCAA are not considered state action for constitutional law purposes
even though almost 50 percent of the NCAA’s members are sponsored by state governments.
Professional
Sports
The relationship between
the individual player and the team owner is vital in the realm of professional sports. Basic contract law and principles generally
govern the contractual relationship between the athlete and owner. Most of the major sports now have a Standard Player’s
Contract which is considered the model employment contract between players and owners. The contract may be modified to
allow for the special needs and talents of the individual athlete. As salaries continue to rise in professional sports, most
players hire an agent to represent them. The relationship between player and athlete is typically governed by a Standard
Representation Contract which defines the duties and compensation guidelines of the agent. Moreover, many state legislatures
now require sports agents to register with the appropriate administrative agency.
International
Sports
The Olympics, sponsored by the International Olympic Committee, and the
World Cup, sponsored by the FIFA are the two major international sporting events. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
was chartered by the United States Government in 1950. The USOC is the governing organization of the Olympics and other related
competitions such as the Pan Am games.