Posts in Labor Law
Accounting for Publicity: Scott Foster & Group Licensing Under Collective Bargaining
Accounting for Publicity: Scott Foster & Group Licensing Under Collective Bargaining

On March 29, 2018, while preparing for a home game against the Winnipeg Jets, the Chicago Blackhawks suddenly found themselves without prospective starter Anton Forsberg, who was injured during his off-ice warmups. With nobody else available to back up now-starter-by-necessity Collin Delia (making his own NHL debut as a recent call up from AHL Rockford), the Blackhawks signed 36-year-old, former Western Michigan University goaltender Scott Foster to a one-day amateur tryout contract. The catch? Foster last played for the WMU Broncos in 2006 (for reference, Jonathan Toews’s freshman year at University of North Dakota) and is employed as an accountant for Golub Capital.

By now, the rest is history: with the Blackhawks up 6-2 over Winnipeg, and with Delia suddenly incapacitated with cramps with 14 minutes to go in the third period... who is this guy in the black Vaughns and the AC/DC mask?... let’s check the program for #90... he wouldn’t be in the program on such short notice... yep, there he is, emergency goaltender Scott Foster! Foster made seven saves on seven shots, preserving the win and earning a first star of the game and a story of a lifetime. In a rush to beat the April 17, 2018 filing deadline with the IRScapitalize on Foster’s (almost literally) fifteen minutes of fame, the Blackhawks put out this tweet in order to (sorry, can’t help it) hawk some merchandise...

What is wrong with this story, and why am I flagging the Chicago Blackhawks for an audit? Let’s open the books.

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Guest Post, NHL, Labor LawMichael B. EngleScott Foster, group licensing, collective bargainingComment
Esports Levels Up - Franchising & Antitrust
Esports Levels Up - Franchising & Antitrust

The year was 2017. It was a simpler time - no 16 seed had beat a 1 seed in March - but that is when the world of esports revolutionized. League of Legends had announced its 2018 season of the North America League Championship Series would move to a franchise model. The Overwatch League (“OWL”), a franchise league for Blizzard’s popular title Overwatch, was beginning to take shape. And then, like UMBC’s upset, the NBA announced an esports franchise league out of nowhere: the NBA 2K League (“2K League”). For the inaugural season of the League, seventeen of the thirty NBA franchises will participate.

Up until the announcement of the 2K League, every franchise league looked like a shell of what we know. For example, the the OWL has city based teams, like the San Francisco Shock, player minimums, and player benefits. The announcement of the OWL promised more than this shell, specifically announcing a player combine and draft. These events, however, never came to fruition. Then came the 2K League, with not only player minimums and and city based teams, but also a combine and a draft. The 2K League announced an application process, followed up by a player combine, and then a draft. Thousands applied, 250 people participated in the combine, 102 and will be draft eligible. The combine ran through the month of February and the draft lottery order was selected on March 13 (with Mavs Gaming, the Dallas Mavericks, winning the first overall pick). The draft will take place April 4 at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden’s Lobby (1 p.m. ET).

Although it is incredible to see the growth of esports and creation of franchise leagues, one has to wonder whether these leagues will ever face litigation surrounding a complex body of law that all traditional sports leagues have faced: Antitrust. This post seeks to give a 30,000 foot view of antitrust, what defenses/exemptions are available, and present arguments for the leagues. A majority of the discussion will focus on the 2K League because, to me, it presents the greatest antitrust battle.

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Guest Post, Labor Law, Antitrust, EsportsMicah Woo Comment
An Excerpt from "Sports Are Worth How Much!? And Other Questions In Pro Sports, Answered (Kind Of)"
An Excerpt from "Sports Are Worth How Much!? And Other Questions In Pro Sports, Answered (Kind Of)"

The following passage is an excerpt from Justin Bedi's Sports Are Worth How Much!? And Other Questions In Pro Sports, Answered (Kind Of), from the chapter “The History and Impact of Unions In Pro Sports”. It has been edited and condensed to appear in this publication.

“Love them or hate them, unions are a part of the way the working world is organized.

The labor movement has touched virtually every corner of the globe and has impacted every industry, from steelmaking and car manufacturing, to the public service and piloting, to the world of professional sports.

Unions are undoubtedly controversial; on a scale from nuisance to difficult problem, business owners see unions as industry death knells, and on the other side, workers see them as vital to protecting their rights. The debate over the impact and effectiveness of unions is fraught with realities, myths, and hyperbole, and this is particularly true of the professional sports industry, because every part of sports is exciting—even the unions.

Unionism in professional sports boils down to an inherent conflict between billionaire owners and millionaire athletes—the kind of drama that drives daytime soap operas. And due to the overwhelming popularity and cultural significance of professional sports in the U.S. and Canada, the everlasting drama between team owners and athletes has been highly publicised and made accessible to the public.

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CBA, Contracts, Labor LawJaime Miettinenunions, Labor Law, professional sports, Justin Bedi, NBPA, free agency, MLBPAComment
New California Law Says Professional Sports Cheerleaders are Employees
New California Law Says Professional Sports Cheerleaders are Employees

"Cheerleaders" of professional sports teams in California - and maybe soon enough in other states - have something to cheer about. As a respectable move by California governor Jerry Brown on July 15, the new law in the state affords these cheerleaders basic employee rights such as minimum wage, overtime pay, sick leave, and the other employment protections that the rest of the team staff has available. Gonzalez introduced this bill in January after Caitlin Yates of the Oakland Raiderettes claimed, essentially, wage-theft. Among her allegations were failing to pay cheerleaders minimum wage (being paid the equivalent of $5 per hour) as well as failing to compensate for travel costs, public appearances, and rehersals.

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Jaime, Labor LawJaime Miettinencheerleaders, Oakland Raiderettes, Labor Law, employeeComment