K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup – April 2024 #3 | Kaufman & Canoles
Sports:
- A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned the West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, finding that it violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. The ruling comes amid a wave of anti-trans legislation cropping up across the country, as well as efforts to fight back against it. The ban in West Virginia was originally signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice in 2021 and introduced as the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” It required that any official or unofficial school-sanctioned event involving athletics determine each athlete’s participation in the event “based on the athlete’s biological sex as indicated on the athlete’s original birth certificate issued at the time of birth,” effectively barring transgender students from participating. Appeals court overturns West Virginia law banning transgender girls from sports teams – CBS News
MLB
- Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was released from federal custody on Friday on $25,000 bond and “numerous other conditions.” Mizuhara can’t leave the central district of California without permission, can’t contact Ohtani, and also has to participate in a gambler’s addiction program, per Blum. Ippei Mizuhara Released on $25K Bond; Allegedly Stole $16M from Shohei Ohtani – Bleacher Report
- A former Major League Baseball executive told a New York federal court he’s owed $5.9 million in retirement benefits based on the league’s erroneous calculation that excluded substantial bonuses he received during his decades-long tenure. In a 52-page complaint Thursday, Christopher Tully accused MLB, its pension committee, and its supplemental pension plan for office employees of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to pay him the full amount of benefits he was owed after he retired in December 2022. Ex-Exec Says MLB Underpaid Retirement Benefits By $5.9M – Law360
NFL
NCAA
- New Jersey State Sen. Kristin Corrado introduced a bill last week that would prohibit NCAA betting on student-athlete player props. The Garden State, via bill S3080, joins a host of other jurisdictions in trying to ban college player props. NCAA president Charlie Baker has called for a nationwide ban on the bets. NJ Could Join List Of States Banning Betting On NCAA Player Props – LSR
- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The NAIA Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The NAIA, which oversees some 83,000 athletes competing in more than 25 sports, is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step. NAIA all but bans transgender athletes from women’s sports. NCAA vows to ensure ‘fair competition’ – The Associated Press
- Zach Edey has been college basketball’s best player for two straight seasons. Yet an NIL rule makes it so he can’t profit off his success in America. Because Edey is Canadian, he’s not legally allowed to make money through NIL deals that take place in the USA. He can, however, conduct NIL deals when he returns to Canada, like when Purdue played Alabama in Toronto on December 9. Zach Edey “Lost Out on a Lot of Money” by American Law – Heavy
- NCAA President Charlie Baker’s recent proposal that would, among other things, allow colleges to pay athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) was cited by plaintiffs’ lawyers on Wednesday night as one of the reasons that a federal judge should abolish the association’s remaining NIL rules without a trial in their lawsuit against the NCAA and the nation’s top college conferences. Court filing asks judge to rule that NCAA’s remaining NIL rules violate antitrust law – USA TODAY SPORTS
- A Quincy University tennis coach has been awarded $2.9 million at the close of a jury trial in Illinois federal court on his counterclaims that a former star recruit spread rumors that he had had sexual relations with a female student tennis player. According to Thursday’s verdict form, the jury awarded Brian Holzgrafe $1 million each for damage to his reputation and emotional distress, plus $40,000 for loss of wages and $874,000 in punitive damages on his counterclaims against Daniel R. Lozier II. Tennis Coach Awarded $2.9M For Defamation In Title IX Suit – Law360
Entertainment:
MUSIC
FILM & TELEVISION
FASHION
- The 4th Circuit decided that a VA federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland’s Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers’ minds. Timberland loses US court bid to trademark boot-design features | Reuters
MEANWHILE, IN HOLLYWOOD…
