Jeff Fannell » Amateur Sports

Aug 16

JFA SIGNS UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SOCCER COACH

August 16, 2016 – Jeff Fannell & Associates is pleased to announce that it has signed University of Maryland Assistant Soccer Coach, Scott Buete as a client. JFA will represent Scott in all areas of contract negotiation, marketing, and endorsements. “We are excited for the opportunity to represent Scott,” said JFA senior associate Kap Misir. “Among the nation’s collegiate soccer coaches, we believe Scott is a rising star.” Scott is in his third year as the assistant coach for the Maryland Terrapins, which is widely regarded as one of the top Division-1 soccer programs in the country. In 2014, the Terps advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament; last year, they advanced to the Elite Eight. They enter this year ranked No. 4 in the pre-season coaches’ poll and are expected to be in the running to capture the NCAA national title. A graduate of the University, Scott played five years for the Terps (1999-2003), the last three serving as team captain. In 2002, Scott led Maryland to the ACC Tournament title. In his senior year, he was named NSCAA First Team All-American, and was selected to the All-ACC First Team and the ACC All-Tournament Team. Scott finished […]

Aug 28

by Jeff Fannell in Amateur Sports, Football, Labor Issues, NCAA, Sports Issues 0 comments tags: College Football, Labor, NCAA, NLRB, Northwestern, Sports Issues, Union

NLRB | Northwestern Players Can’t Unionize.

Real quick, because a brother’s gotta run. I come from a union household. My father was a member of D.C. 37 in New York City for over 30 years. A roof overhead, clothes on the back and food on the table were all courtesy of a union job, paying a decent wage. After law school, I worked three years for the AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization for organized labor in the United States. After that, I spent 10 years as a labor lawyer for the Major League Baseball Players Association, widely considered among the most powerful unions in the country. For the past five years I have continued to work on behalf of labor, assisting labor organizations, athletes and the agents who represent them in various capacities. So no one needs to check my union card. When an NLRB regional director ruled in March 2014 that Northwestern football players were employees within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, and therefore could unionize, I (of course) … disagreed with the decision. Union sensibilities aside, I simply could not accept that the athletic scholarships the football players received equated to wages or compensation given in exchange for working for the school. […]

Apr 02

by Jeff Fannell in Amateur Sports, Football, Sports Issues, What's Up With That? 0 comments tags: Alabama, Domestic Violence, Jonathan Taylor, Nick Saban, Whats up with that?

What’s Up With That?: The Jonathan Taylor Saga

This is the part of the domestic violence story too few want to talk about. The part where the female victim recants the story. In the aftermath of Ray Rice and other high profile incidents, the clarion call in professional sports has been to develop or strengthen domestic violence policies in the game. While that, in the main, is absolutely right, the need for players and their unions to be involved in the discussion (hear this out NFL), is vital, because agree with it or not, high-profile, highly-paid athletes may well be targets of unfounded accusations. Given that, there is a real need to ensure that any reported incident of domestic violence is credible before players are suspended and careers forever tarnished. Staking out that position may not be politically correct, but it’s right. The unfolding story of Jonathan Taylor stands as the most recent Exhibit A. Taylor, a former defensive lineman for the University of Alabama football team, was accused this past weekend of physically assaulting a woman and causing injuries to her neck and damage to her property. Following his arrest, Alabama Coach Nick Saban dismissed Taylor from the team. But now comes the news that on March […]

Oct 18

by Jeff Fannell in Amateur Sports, Football, NCAA, Sports, Sports Issues, What Say You? 0 comments tags: Amateurism, College Football, Compensation, Money, NCAA, Pay to play, Student Athletes, What Say You?

What Say You?: Should College Athletes Be Paid

“The tide is turning. … Players are going to be paid. Now whether it happens in five years or 10 or 15, I have no idea. But there’s no way we’re going to make this kind of money and never pay the players.” So said ESPN’s Jay Bilas regarding compensation for college athletes. Should college athletes be paid? What say you?

Oct 16

by Jeff Fannell in Amateur Sports, Football, Injury Report, Sports, Sports Issues 4 comments tags: Death, Football, Friday Night Lights, High School Football, High School Sports, Sports, Student Athletes

High School Football Deaths on the Rise

As the calendar turned to October, the crisp fall temperatures reminded us that football was in full bloom. For many, that is a good thing, as football remains the sports king of America. However, the recent report of three football-related deaths in four days was alarming, to say the least. That these tragedies all involved high school athletes raises the concern even the more. According to a report in USA Today, this season there have been at least seven football-related deaths involving high school athletes – and we still have nearly two months to go. Last year, eight players died from football-related injuries, the highest total since 1976. Much work is being done to stem the tide of concussions and other serious injuries in football. While such efforts are certainly to be applauded, this recent report is a sober reminder of just how much work remains to be done. Photo credit: Getty Images

Sep 02

by Jeff Fannell in Amateur Sports, NCAA, Sports, Sports Issues, What Say You? 0 comments

What Say You?: The NCAA cited UCONN

The NCAA cited UCONN for a secondary violation of its rules after reviewing women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma’s congratulatory call to 13-year-old Little League star Mo’Ne Davis. “There’s guys playing college basketball driving around in cars that cost more than my house and we’re worried about a phone call that I made?” So said Coach Auriemma. What say you? Let us hear from you. We’ll post the top response next week.