The Fordham Sports Law Forum is pleased to announce that its 20th Annual Sports Law Symposium will take place Friday, April 1st, 2016. Anyone interested in attending this event may REGISTER HERE.
The schedule for the day is posted below and may also be found in the registration link above. Practitioners will receive 3 CLE credits with attendance.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS — 20th ANNUAL SPORTS LAW SYMPOSIUM
Check In/Registration: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Morning Keynote: 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM
DeMaurice Smith – Executive Director, NFL Players Association
Panel 1 – Gender Inequality: 11:20 am – 12:20 pm
Despite some recent progress owards gender equality in sports, including the hiring of female assistant coaches in the NFL and NBA, there remain significant disparities between male and female specific sports leagues. Primary issues include inequitable compensation, lack of public notoriety, as well as improper treatment by league officials, as evidenced by the recent dispute in the Women’s World Cup. This panel will discuss the most viable legal approaches in addressing persistent gender inequalities in sports and how the progress has impacted the need for substantive changes. Specifically, the panel will focus discussion on suggestions for how the next generation of attorneys can implement the necessary reform.
Lunchtime Keynote – 12:20 PM – 1:20 PM
Ken Hershman, Former President HBO Sports
Panel 2 – Daily Fantasy Leagues: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
While fantasy sports leagues have been a staple of the modern fan experience, the recent rise in daily fantasy leagues raises the question of whether such programs have introduced gambling into the sports world. This panel will address issues surrounding the connection between daily fantasy leagues and gambling, including: whether this new form of fantasy activity actually qualifies as prohibited sports gambling; what role, if any, sports officials should play in regulating the daily leagues; and the impact that resolution of this dispute would have on the place of gambling in sports.
Panel 3 – Recent Challenges to the Arbitration Process – 2:35 pm -3:45 pm
With the recent decision in the Tom Brady case, the NFL’s arbitration process and the Commissioner’s disciplinary authority have come under significant scrutiny. This panel will focus on the current state of the dispute resolution process within major sports leagues and discuss how judicial intervention, from the famous 1998 Latrell Sprewell arbitration case to the recent Tom Brady scandal, has impacted internal disciplinary systems. This discussion will primarily address the Brady decision’s effect on the perception of the legitimacy of such disciplinary systems and, the potential implications of the NFLPA’s recent success for the rise in similar disputes. The panel will attempt to resolve these conflicts through an analysis of the relevant CBA provisions in order to determine whether the arbitration process, as we know it, can be secured.
Closing Remarks: 3:40 PM – 4:00 PM
Cocktail Reception: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM