Jeff Fannell » Sports Issues

May 16

by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, Basketball, Career, Hockey, Labor, Labor Issues, Marketing, Media, MLB, NBA, NCAA, Sports, Sports Issues, Uncategorized 0 comments

LEAGUES LOOKING TO CA$H IN ON NEW GAMBLING LAWS

Now that the United States Supreme Court has struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection ACT (PASPA), a federal law that (with a few exceptions) prohibited state-authorized sports gambling, several states are lining up to enact legislation that allows sports wagering within their borders. And why not? There is huge money in sports betting. Last year, Nevada raked in nearly $5 billion in sports wagering. States like New Jersey, New York and others all want a piece of the action. States are not alone in this regard. Sports leagues, many of which opposed efforts to get rid of PASPA, also have their hands out looking for a quick buck. Having sensed that they were losing the PASPA battle, the NBA, NFL, MLB and others came up with the ingenious idea that if the Court were to strike PASPA leagues could cash in on the new legal landscape by imposing “integrity fees” on those states that enact new gambling laws. What are integrity fees? Some say it’s a nice way of saying “extortion.” The leagues and governing bodies say integrity fees are necessary to maintain the integrity and public confidence in their respective sports. The rationale goes like this: once […]

Oct 12

by Jeff Fannell & Associates in Career, Events, News, Press Release, Schools, Sports, Sports Issues, Sports Law 0 comments tags: Advice, Career, College, jeff fannell, Sports, sports law, Students

Jeff Fannell to Lecture at Adelphi University

Thursday, October 12, 2017 – On Monday, October 16, Jeff Fannell will serve as a guest lecturer at Adelphi University, where he will speak on current developments in sports law. The lecture, coordinated by Professor Josh Liebman, will commence at 8:00 p.m. on the school’s campus in Garden City, NY. “I’m always excited to speak to students and young professionals about the sports industry,” said Jeff. “I’m particularly excited to speak to a class taught by Josh, whom I’ve known for over ten years. We met when I was lawyer at the MLBPA and he was a young intern. It’s gratifying to see how far he has come in his career, both as a professor and commercial litigator.” Monday’s lecture will cover issues relating to negotiating athlete contracts, grievance arbitration and collective bargaining. “We’ll discuss a little Ezekiel Elliott, a little Colin Kaepernick, recent NBA signings and other things,” said Jeff. “It should be fun.”

May 03

by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, MLB, Sports Issues, What's Up With That? 0 comments tags: Adam Jones, Boston Fans, Boston Redsox, Jackie Robinson, Race

Standing with Adam Jones

On April 27, 2017, I had the privilege of attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jackie Robinson Museum in lower Manhattan. The museum, which will open in 2019, has been in the works for decades. In addition to housing baseball memorabilia, the museum will focus on Jackie’s life on and off the field, including his contributions to the civil rights movement. Among my personal highlights at the groundbreaking ceremony was the opportunity to meet Jackie’s widow, Rachel Robinson, who is known to some as the First Lady of Baseball. In addition, I had the opportunity to chat with noted civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, who shared how the Dodgers moving out of Brooklyn played a role in stoking his passion for justice and equality. According to Siegel, the Dodgers helped forged friendships between blacks and whites who shared a common interest in cheering their team on. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, many of those bonds were broken, which ultimately led Siegel on a life-long crusade against any barriers that would tend to create racial divides. Thoughts of Jackie, Rachel and Norman returned to the fore as baseball ushered in its second month of the season with the story […]

Jan 20

by Jeff Fannell in NFL, Sports Issues, Technology 0 comments tags: Antonio Brown, Facebook, Mike Tomlin, New England Patriots, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers

It’s gotta be the views!

In a commercial spot for Nike in the late ‘80s, Spike Lee, in character as Mars Blackmon, wanted to know what made Michael Jordan so great. Mars wanted to know if it was Mike’s shorts, his socks, his shoes, or his haircut. Each time, Mike calmly replied, “No, Mars.” At the end of the commercial, Mars was not buying it, yelling, “It’s gotta be the shoes!” I was reminded of that commercial as I watched the video of Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live broadcast. Brown, the star wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, decided it would be a good idea to live stream the Steelers’ locker-room celebration following their playoff victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. During the live recording, Brown captured some unflattering comments by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that were directed at the New England Patriots, the Steelers’ next playoff opponent. A lot has been made of Tomlin’s comments, but that’s not the real issue. The bigger issues center on Brown’s judgment and motivation. Let’s take the easy one first: Brown didn’t exercise poor judgment, he exercised no judgment. No way (I hope) was his live broadcast the result of any kind of deliberate consideration. The second issue […]

KAP MISIR TO TEACH AT ST. JOHN’S LAW

JAMAICA, NEW YORK – August 17th, Kap Misir, Senior Associate at Jeff Fannell & Associates, joins the adjunct faculty at St. John’s University School of Law. Kap will be teaching a first-of-its-kind course at St. John’s Law in Salary Negotiation & Arbitration in Sports. The course takes an in-depth, comparative look at the salary arbitration rules and procedures in Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. Kap, and his co-professor, Ryan Lake, of the Denver-based Lake Law Group, will guide students in developing contract negotiation skills, and in the preparation and presentation of salary arbitration cases. Kap has extensive experience in MLB salary arbitration and contract negotiation, while Ryan has similar expertise in professional hockey. Kap received his undergraduate degree in Legal Studies from St. John’s University, his J.D. from Western Michigan University, Cooley Law School and his LL.M in U.S. and International Sports Law from St. John’s University School of Law. He returns to St. John’s to teach the one-credit intensive course, which will run from August 17 through August 27.

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 […]

Jul 12

by Jeff Fannell in News, Sports Issues 0 comments tags: america, black lives matter, crises, dallas, nation, police, protest, shootings, Sports, transcending sports

Transcending Sport: Shootings, Protests and a Nation in Crisis

AP Photo/David Goldman America loves its sports. For many fans, sporting events add to the quality of their lives. For others sports offer a temporary escape, providing a refuge from the challenges and problems life sometimes brings. Yet there are times when even the games and tournaments, as powerfully appealing as they may be, cannot obscure the harsh realities of this thing called life. Such was the case the week of July 4, 2016, when we as a nation endured yet two more fatal shootings by white police officers of African-American men – Alton Sterling, who was selling CDs in a Louisiana gas station, and Philando Castile, who was pulled over for a broken tail light in Minnesota. The shootings spurred protests in various cities across the country, including in Dallas, Texas. The day after the Minnesota shooting, a 25-year-old former Army reservist, reportedly acting alone, ambushed police officers following a peaceful rally organized to honor the lives of Sterling and Castile. Five police officers were killed and another seven were injured in the well-planned, horrific attack. Less than 24 hours later, at least three other officers were shot in separate incidents in Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia, one […]

May 24

by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, MLB, Sports Issues 1 comments tags: Blue Jays, Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Toronto

Josh Donaldson: MLB’s Beanball Culture ‘Doesn’t Make Sense’

A few months ago, Bryce Harper, the reigning NL MVP, caused a stir when he declared that baseball was a “tired sport.” Harper was not calling out the game for being boring, he was challenging baseball’s “unwritten rules.” For Harper, such rules put a damper on excitement by frowning upon players freely expressing their personalities. Harper’s comments ignited a spirited debate, with many of baseball’s old guard roundly criticizing the 23-year-old All-Star. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred joined the debate and wisely noted that each generation of players take it upon themselves to police the game, to enforce baseball’s unwritten code of conduct. Manfred expressed confidence that today’s current players – with bright young stars like Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Andrew McCutchen, Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa – will find a way to do just that in keeping with the current times. Recently, Josh Donaldson, the Toronto Blue Jays third baseman and the reigning AL MVP, challenged one of baseball’s most sacred of unwritten rules: the beanball. On Sunday, Donaldson smashed a homerun in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins and stared into the Twins dugout as he crossed home plate. That stare-down was directed at the […]

May 20

by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, MLB, Sports Issues 11 comments tags: Astros, Carlos Gomez, ESPN, Houston Chronicle, J.A. Adande, The Undefeated

Swing-and-a-Miss: J.A. Adande Whiffs on the Carlos Gomez Fiasco

After nearly three years in the making, ESPN has finally launched “The Undefeated,” a sports and culture website geared toward African-Americans (www.theundefeated.com). It’s been only a few days, but the early returns, for me at least, are extremely positive. I thoroughly enjoy the site – everything from the look, the content and especially, the voices. I encourage you to check it out, if you haven’t done so already. That said, I have a beef with a piece written by J.A. Adande on the issue of quote-fixing – whether journalists should be in the business of cleaning up quotes from athletes. The basis of the story is the flap between Houston Astros centerfielder Carlos Gomez and Houston Chronicle columnist Brian T. Smith. In a recent article, in which Smith was critical of Gomez’s poor play, Gomez was quoted as saying: “For the last year and this year, I not really do much for this team. The fans be angry. They be disappointed.” Gomez and others criticized Smith, with Gomez stating that he believes the columnist intentionally tried to ridicule him. The paper has since issued an apology to Gomez. Adande believes no apology was necessary. Said Adande: “Since when should journalists […]

May 10

by Jeff Fannell in Golf, MLB, News, Olympics, People, Sports Issues 0 comments tags: Drug Testing, PEDs, PGA

IN PURSUIT OF ‘CLEAN’ SPORT

Athlete drug testing continues to make headlines. In recent weeks several Major League players were suspended by MLB for testing positive for PEDs. More recently, PGA golfers who have qualified for the 2016 Olympic golf field became subject to the more rigorous Olympic drug testing program. Included in the Olympic testing regime is a “whereabouts requirement,” under which golfers must provide a one-hour time slot between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. when they will be available for testing on days when they’re not in competition. This is a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requirement faced by all elite athletes who are in the registered testing pool of their respective international sports federations. For many non-athletes the idea of having to provide your whereabouts on a daily basis, with a specified hour to take a drug test (or to do most anything, for that matter) is an imposition on personal freedom beyond debate. Yet the supposed desire for genuine competition among fans and citizens, who themselves are nipping-and-tucking and crafting artificial personas on social media, justifies the intrusion. After all, we’re talking about athletes, many of whom get paid big money, so anything goes, right? It’s such blasé thinking that no doubt […]