Epstein Materials (Employment & Ethical Issues in Sports & Entertainment Law)

Ethics and Sports: Recent Developments

Professor Adam Epstein,

Professor of Legal Studies, Department of Finance and Law,

Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

 

The presentation will discuss recent (i.e., within the last 5 years) situations and dilemmas in sports which have legal or ethical ramifications.  Reference will be made to various ethical responsibilities of lawyers and how they intersect with these sports examples. The discussion is divided into four major categories: Youth and Intercollegiate, Interscholastic, Olympic, and Professional. PowerPoint slides and videos will enhance the presentation which covers raging parents, coaching misconduct, mercy rules, and varieties of fraud including academic, participation and technological fraud. Examples are included from Wisconsin and other states, and a few international examples are offered as well.

 

Ethics Rules

 

Conduct Examples

 

Penalties

  • Jackie Robinson West and participation fraud by using ineligible players for Little League Baseball
  • Various examples of "tanking" or violating the spirit of the game in softball and basketball, violating school district code of ethics for coaches, states in part: "The coach must be aware that he or she occupies a position of great influence on the education of a student-athlete and therefore should never place the value of winning above the value of instilling the highest ideals of character. Coaches must uphold the honor and dignity of their position. In all contacts with student-athletes, officials, school administrators, competitors and the public, coaches shall set an example of the highest ethical and moral conduct."
  • Blowouts: No mercy rule not in place, then enacted as a result at the high school level.

 

National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2015-2016 NCAA Division I Manual (April, 2016), NCAA April 2016 Manual

  • Exploration of the 2015-2016 NCAA Manual and its mention of interesting terms such as: Sportsmanship: mentioned 29 times. Misconduct: 19 times.
  • Ethic: mentioned 25 times (ethical, unethical).

 

Other Examples

  • UNC academic fraud case
    • McCants & Ramsey v. NCAA, Class Action Complaint, 15 CVS 1782 (N.C. Super. Ct. 2015), McCants & Ramsey v. NCAA Complaint
    • Kenneth L. Wainstein, A. Joseph Jay III & Colleen Depman Kukowski, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP,  Investigation of Irregular Classes in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Oct. 16, 2014), Investigation of UNC-Chapel Hill Classes
  • Penn State University: Jerry Sandusky case
    • Report of the Special Investigative Counsel Regarding the Actions of The Pennsylvania State University Related to the Child Sexual Abuse Committed by Gerald A. Sandusky (July 12, 2012) (pgs. 1- 18), PSU Freeh Report
    • Binding Consent Decree Imposed by the NCAA and Accepted by the Pennsylvania State University (July 23, 2012). Penn. State Consent Decree
  • ICU Technology Fraud (cycling)
    • Lily Hay Newman, Hidden motors: cycling's mechanical doping problem hits new low, New Scientist, Apr. 21, 2016 (Cycling Technology Fraud).
  • Inappropriate Tweets
  • Olympics: Banned Greek triple jumper 'bitter and upset' after racist tweet
  • Bullying in the workplace (Incognito, Miami)
    • Theodore V. Wells Jr., Brad S. Karp, Bruce Birenboim & David W. Brown, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Report to the National Football League Concerning Issues of Workplace Conduct at the Miami Dolphins (Feb. 14, 2014). (Report on Miami Dolphins Workplace Conduct)
  • FIFA Scandal
    • Hans Joachim Eckert, Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Process Prepared by the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee (Nov. 13, 2014). (FIFA Report on 2018/2022 World Cup Bidding)
  • Tennis players match-fixing
    • Simon Cox, Tennis Match Fixing: Evidence of Suspected Match-Fixing Revealed, BBC, Jan. 18, 2016 (Match Fixing in Tennis)
  • Deflategate (Tom Brady/New England)
  • Hackgate (MLB)
  • NFL Draft Hacking incident with Laremy Tunsil
  • Consider "morals clauses" in contracts.
  • Lance Armstrong
    • REASONED DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES ANTI-DOPING AGENCY ON DISQUALIFICATION AND INELIGIBILITY, REPORT ON PROCEEDINGS UNDER THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING CODE AND THE USADA PROTOCOL (USADA's Lance Armstrong Decision)
  • Maria Sharapova (Meldonium)
  • Michigan and Bullying
    • Policy prohibiting bullying; adoption and implementation by board of school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of public school academy; public hearing; submission of policy to department; contents of policy; annual report of incidents of bullying; form and procedure; school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or parent or guardian reporting act of bullying to school official; modified policy; definitions; section to be known as "Matt Epling Safe School Law," MCLS § 380.1310b (2016), Mich. Revised School Code 380.1310b

(10)(c) "Cyberbullying" means any electronic communication that is intended or that a reasonable person would know is likely to harm 1 or more pupils either directly or indirectly by doing any of the following:

(10)(b)(i) Substantially interfering with educational opportunities, benefits, or programs of 1 or more pupils.

(10)(b)(ii) Adversely affecting the ability of a pupil to participate in or benefit from the school district's or public school's educational programs or activities by placing the pupil in reasonable fear of physical harm or by causing substantial emotional distress.

(10)(b)(iii) Having an actual and substantial detrimental effect on a pupil's physical or mental health.

(10)(b)(iv) Causing substantial disruption in, or substantial interference with, the orderly operation of the school.

(10)(d) "Telecommunications access device" and "telecommunications service provider" mean those terms as defined in section 219a of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.219a.

(11) This section shall be known as "The Matt Epling Safe School Law".

History: Add. 2011, Act 241, Imd. Eff. Dec. 6, 2011 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 478, Eff. Mar. 31, 2015

 

  • Dennis Wideman (hit on referee)

NHL Player Cross-checks Referee

Sports Ethics Research

Epstein, Adam and Niland, Bridget, Exploring Ethical Issues and Examples by Using Sport (August 31, 2011). Atlantic Law Journal, Vol. 13, pp. 19-59, 2011. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1920429