Following a North Dakota Supreme Court ruling yesterday, it appears that the University of North Dakota “Fighting Sioux” mascot/nickname/moniker is now officially retired. The North Dakota Board of Higher Education voted months ago to retire the highly controversial moniker, but had been blocked in its efforts to carry out its retirement decision by a lawsuit filed by members of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe. The ND Supreme Court ruling effectively permits the Board of Higher Education to make the retirement determination at any time despite separate and ongoing settlement negotiations with the NCAA in connection with its 2005 “hostile and abusive” mascot policy. Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Board reiterated its previous decision to once and for all retire the logo. The Board sent a letter to UND President Robert Kelley to begin the logo/mascot transition immediately.
Archive for ◊ April, 2010 ◊
Next Tuesday, April 13th, Yale Law School will be hosting a panel discussion titled, “Sports and the Law: Current Issues.”
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Professor Dionne Koller of the University of Baltimore School of Law passes along this announcement of what should be an engaging symposium on traumatic brain injuries in sports:
Alan Schwarz of the New York Times offers an interesting story today regarding a workers’ compensation claim recently filed in California by the wife of former NFL lineman Ralph Wenzel, effectively asserting that Wenzel developed dementia as a result of his eight year career in the NFL. Schwarz reports that around 700 workers’ compensation claims have been filed by former NFL players in California — whose workers’ compensation system is available to anyone that played a single game in the state — with most of the claims to date relating to orthopedic injuries. If successful, Wenzel’s claim would mark the first time that a player has received workers’ compensation for the long-term effects of head trauma, and would open the door for hundreds of similar claims to be filed by other former players. Experts predict that the NFL could be facing $100 million or more in potential future liability should Wenzel’s claim succeed. more…
While most of the college basketball fans in the country have been finalizing their “why I hate Duke” speeches, the NCAA continues to move towards expanding the tournament from 64 to 96 teams. The proposed expansion has been met with an avalanche of criticism. Critics claim that a larger field will devalue the regular season and the conference tournaments, dilute the NCAA tournament field, destroy office brackets, and all but ruin March Madness. I’m not convinced that expanding the tournament is a good idea (though I do not think it will destroy the tournament), but I think the NCAA has a more subtle concern than the negative reaction from fans and journalists: Adding 32 teams to the tournament may have a real impact the NCAA’s position in antitrust lawsuits, including the O’Bannon-class action suit currently pending in federal court.
With the Red Sox playing the Yankees tonight at Fenway Park, it’s a reminder that earlier this week, the New York Times sold a portion of its minority ownership stake in the Red Sox. Boston College Law Professor Brian Quinn discusses the sale on M&A Law Prof Blog. more…
We’re pleased that Jeff Levine will be a guest blogger for the next two weeks. Along with his legal practice, Jeff currently serves as a staff writer for the Business of Sports Network. He is a graduate of Tulane University Law School, and previously served in legal positions with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Coyotes. We look forward to his contributions. more…
A recent study by National Media, Inc., a GOP firm (conducted by Scarborough USA, a joint project of Nielsen and Arbitron) found that dedicated sports fans tended to vote Republican than Democrat. The strongest Republican support was among fans of the PGA, college football, and NASCAR; strongest Democrat support was among fans of the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s tennis, and WWE (!). Fans of baseball, the NFL, and college basketball leaned Republican, but in somewhat closer numbers. The poll is based on 218,000 surveys conducted between August 2008 and September 2009.
