First off, what sparked your interest in sports law?
At the core I’m a civil rights lawyer. I started off at a small firm in Washington, D.C, as an associate. That’s when a number of coaches came to us – they were concerned about not getting equal opportunities in the NFL to coach. We convened with them- they felt they needed help advocating for themselves. Our firm helped them in that matter and I ended up being a part of that. That’s where the intersection of race and sports began.
The firm produced a report after Dennis Green and Tony Dungy were fired and that left just one head coach of color in the NFL. The report covered the way race impacted head coaching searches. The University of Pennsylvania did the study and it revealed that coaches of color had success – just not a lot of opportunities.
What are some of the big issues you see facing the NFL and other big sports leagues now?
The landscape of college sports is in transition. Will college athletes be deemed employees? That’s an unsettled issue.
The NFL CBA will also have to address social media issues. Sports gambling is a big issue – that has an impact in two ways. Disgruntled betters are taking losses out on athletes and that’s a growing concern, as is the integrity of the game whenever gambling is involved.
Is there anything more imminent from your perspective?
There’s a season to everything. Publicity rights is a big deal right now – and we don’t know how the gambling space will develop. The collegiate rules will also impact the NFL in terms of how they are treated as professionals. Sports law is dynamic – as they say, the only constant is change.
Player name, image and likeness – all of that will be impacted by AI too. The CBA will have to reference that.
What are some of the biggest surprises you’ve encountered over your career in sports law?
The biggest surprise to me is how much college sports has changed in the past 10 years. It looks nothing like it did 10 years ago. No judgement either way – it’s just different.
What prompted you to write your book Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL?
I was a young legal academic – I wanted to write a book and looked for an interesting topic. I had just left the firm for academia but was still working as pro bono counsel for the organization that was working with coaches to help advocate for them. Not many people were writing about that issue at the time. I wanted to write something long form and thought that the story was fascinating. I wrote about that push for equitable opportunities. As soon as I started working on it I fell in love with it.
Where do you see progress – any leagues doing well – and how so? What are they doing better?
It’s been a journey – there have been fits and starts. I felt more optimistic in the past than I do now. This past hiring cycle has been a disappointment. The numbers follow opportunity but the opportunities don’t seem to be coming.
What do you think are some potential solutions?
I spend a lot of time thinking about that but I haven’t come to any conclusions on how to fix it. It’s a difficult space – progress is slow. The Rooney Rule was questioned but it makes sense at its core. The Accelerator Program helped too. The key is for the thought leaders in the league to be creative. The Rooney Rule was creative – they just need to keep thinking of creative ideas on how to move forward.
Are you a big sports fan now?
I really appreciated working with Tony Dungy – he wrote the forward to my book – and Jim Caldwell. They were great to work with and helped me appreciate sports.
As a sports law professional – my job is to peel back the curtain and look into the back rooms of sports teams and leagues. That’s caused me to lose that pure fandom at times. I focus more on specific players and coaches now. My son is a massive Ravens fan though – so I support him on that, though they’ve gotten the short end of the stick versus the Steelers lately!
Are you at all optimistic about where sports fit in general and the impact in can have?
It’s cliche’ – but I still believe sports bring people together. It’s an extraordinary tool in doing so. At times like now where things are divisive, sports can be a great uniter. It can divide people too, but I think it has the great ability to unite people. That’s what I value most about it.