Why It Makes Sense for Michigan to Appeal the NCAA Sign-Stealing Investigation Decision

Anyone who has a ear to or an eye on sports media in the past couple years knows about the highly publicized sign-stealing allegations the NCAA made against the University of Michigan (and a handful of individuals) during the late “Jim Harbaugh Era” of Michigan Football. So, I’m not here to talk about the allegations. I’m here to talk about the NCAA Committee on Infraction’s (COI) conclusion and penalty determination and why it is no surprise Michigan plans to appeal. Since I recently had the opportunity to briefly discuss this matter on 760AM WJR’s “Focus with Paul W. Smith,” I figured an expanded discussion is warranted. Let’s talk about what the COI actually said, what the NCAA Division I Bylaws actually say, and why it is important for Michigan to challenge this infractions decision for college sports’ collective well-being.

2024 Sports Law Hot Topics to Watch

Admittedly, saying, “It’s been a while!” is a severe understatement, but after podcasting, growing my legal practice, and going through numerous personal life events across the spectrum, I felt it was time to come back to write something that I know many people used to look forward to reading because it’s that time of the year. My past predictions have been pretty accurate despite some unpredictable events in recent years. So, let’s get this party started!

Here are what I believe will be the Top 5 sports law hot topics to watch:

Understanding the Right of Publicity in College Athletics - What IS the Right of Publicity?

For a brief overview discussion on the right of publicity, I created the slideshow below. I acknowledge that sometimes I can be a little long-winded or go on tangents, but that is only because I am incredibly passionate about the legal side of sports, and I love to share that passion and knowledge with others. In the series’ introduction blog post, I said I would “paint a picture of what the right of publicity is, legally speaking.” Well, here you go! I literally made images. Think of this as a baseline explanation without getting into the nitty gritty legal details - totally transparent, unbiased and objective, easily digestible, and visually appealing.

Reviewing My "2018 Sports Law Hot Topics to Watch" Predictions

Congratulations, y'all. We made it through 2018! Per our usual routine here on the Sports Law Blonde blog, let’s review the 2018 sports law hot topic predictions I made back in January to (a) see whether there has been any ground made, & (b) if not, speculate on why that might be the case. So, I straight up copy-and-pasted my previous blog post and added my new comments and wisdom at the end of each section in this type style.

LET'S DO THIS.

Per usual, I would like to make my predictions regarding what topics I believe will be extra sizzlin' in 2018, but I will do so in a slightly different way. Here are brief descriptions of what each topic is, some insight as to why I have it on my predictions list, and who you can pay attention to for the latest news, updates, and analysis throughout the upcoming year: