FSU College of Law Research Center Blog

Sports Agency 101

                                                                                                                                          

            

Do you aspire to be a sports agent, or have a student who does?  Darren Heitner and his team of Blogging All-Stars have put together a lot of good information at SportsAgentBlog.com, a nifty Website subtitled "I Want to be a Sports Agent."

Tops on the list is a feature called "Interview with the Agent," a series of conversations with industry pros exploring topics such as:

•   Getting started as a sports agent 
•   Recruiting clients
•   Negotiating that first contract
•   Issues involved in starting your own agency
•   Advice for those wanting to break into the profession
•   The future of the athletic representation industry 
•   Internships available at their agencies   

Recent interviewees include Peter Webb, an agent in the golf division of Gaylord Sports Management;  Mark Steinberg, Director of Global Golf Business at IMG; Angelo Wright, founder of SportsWest Football; and Ian Singer, President and Director of Basketball Operations for Guardian Sports Group.

Other features of special interest:            

      --  "Nightmare Clients of the Week" --  reports on and discusses "newsworthy egregious acts by a client or agent" and explores the ramifications to the agent/athlete relationship.

     --    "The Wash Up" -- issues in international sports agent news.

     --    "What Would You Do?" -- a column that presents hypothetical situations related to athlete representation.  Current and aspiring agents are invited to respond, creating a lively and interesting dialogue.

There are sections of the site devoted to links to "Sports Agencies Listed by State," and "Sports Agency Internships."  Other areas aggregate links to:

• Books on Sports Agency and Sports Business
• Law School programs in Sports Law
• Business School programs in Sports Marketing and Management
• Websites devoted to Sports Law, Sports Business, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports in General, and Sports Statistics

So whether you'd like to break into the business, or just spend some time learning from the pros,  click on by and see what sports agency is all about.

Posted by Patricia Bingham-Harper

Play Ball!

                                                       

            As the Rocks & Sox gear up for the 2007 World Series this week, our hearts and minds turn to baseball.  For books to answer all of your questions regarding baseball and the law, browse the Research Center's collection at  KF3989 and thereabouts.  Legal enquiries thus assuaged, you can get ready to settle in and watch the boys flash some leather, and hit 'em where the grass doesn't grow!

Posted by Patricia Bingham-Harper

Game of Shadows

San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams chronicle their 15 month investigation into superstar athletes’ use of steroids, growth hormones and other banned drugs. Their investigation shocked the nation and led to Congressional hearings. Interestingly, it was the IRS that played a major role in gathering the evidence that brought Victor Conte and others to justice. It seems that when no one else can put the bad guys away, the IRS can get them!

“Now, in Game of Shadows, Fainaru-Wada and Williams tell the complete story of BALCO [the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative] and the investigation that has shaken the foundations of the sporting world. They reveal how an obscure, self-proclaimed nutritionist, Victor Conte, became a steroid svengali to multi-millionaire athletes desperate for a competitive edge, and how he created superstars with his potent cocktails of miracle drugs. They expose the international web of coaches and trainers who funneled athletes to BALCO, and how the drug cheats stayed a step ahead of the testing agencies and the law. They detail how an aggressive IRS investigator doggedly gathered evidence until Conte and his co-conspirators were brought to justice. And at the center of the story is the biggest star of them all, the muscle-bound MVP outfielder of the San Francisco Giants, Barry Bonds, whose suspicious late-career renaissance has him threatening Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.” –From Game of Shadows Inside Flap at http://www.gameofshadows.com/_insideflap.html

Posted by Marin Dell

Baseball - spectator injuries - limited duty rule

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that while a baseball fan assumes a risk of injury, “[o]nce the fan has disengaged him--or herself from the activity on the field and has left the stands, that individual is no longer trying to catch foul balls or even necessarily watching the game. It is all "harmless fun-- until that one foul ball comes screaming at the wrong time and in the wrong place." (citing Gil Fried, Baseball Spectators' Assumption of Risk: Is It 'Fair' or 'Foul'?, 13 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 39, 57 (2003).) Held: "...the limited duty rule, which restricts the tort liability of owners, applies in situations where an injury occurs in the stands. However, public policy and fairness require application of traditional negligence principles in all other areas of the stadium, including, but not limited to, concourses and mezzanine areas." Maisonave v. Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club, Inc., 2005 WL 2205663 (N.J. Sept. 13, 2005).

Posted by Mary McCormick