Sports Law • Risk Management

NFL

An Overview of Drone Use for Sports Facilities

Drone use at sporting events has made international news in the last month when a drone piloted by a New York City high school science teacher crashed during a women’s singles match at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship. Days later, a drone crashed at the stadium shortly before a Kentucky football game. There were no injuries as a result of those two incidents. However, in a triathlon filmed in Australia, an athlete was injured by a drone within meters of the finish line.

KC Chiefs Linebacker Suicide Possibly Linked to Head Trauma

On the morning of December 1, 2012 Javon Belcher, a 25-year-old linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, fatally shot his girlfriend and mother of his three-month-old daughter at their private residence before taking his own life at the Chiefs’ team facility. Belcher was confronted by Chiefs’ general manager, Scott Pioli and head coach, Romeo Crennel, in the parking lot outside the team’s facilities and thanked them for all they had done for him and asked that they take care of his baby daughter, before Belcher turned the gun on himself.

The Danger of NFL Replacement Referees

The NFL insists that it does what is in the best interest of the game, the players, and the fans at all times. Yet through the first three weeks of the NFL season, replacement referees from the high school level and lower branches of college football, have been used because of the lockout of the regular officials. After three weeks of replacement referees, everyone seems to have something to say about the NFL and its replacement referees. Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe wrote:

NFL Concussion Lawsuits

As recently as July 1, 2012, Greg Rinsling of the Associated Press reported that there were more than 94 pending concussion related lawsuits against the National Football League with over 2,425 players as plaintiffs. These lawsuits are alleging that the NFL hid information that linked football related concussion injuries, even mild ones, to permanent brain injuries. Much of this is due to recent studies detailing the overwhelming evidence that even mild concussions can cause far more severe problems.

New Concussion Guidelines for the NBA

The new NBA guidelines regarding concussions are at the forefront today with Cleveland Caveliers Kyrie Irving, who suffered a head injury playing the Miami Heat last Tuesday. In order to resume play, Kyrie will have to undergo a series of tests, including riding a stationary bike, jogging, doing agility work and non-contact drills. Unless he can do these activities without showing concussion symptoms, he will not be released to play basketball.

March 25, 2011: Nader Proposes To Do Away With Athletic Scholarships

If colleges were no longer permitted to offer athletic scholarships, how would the game change? The Seattle Times reported late last night that Ralph Nader is seeking to change the way the game of sports is played at the university level.