Here I am. Yawning from my broken sleep, eyes red and puffy, watching other big-eyed, rushed passengers bustle along the narrow airport hallways with their luggage and large coffee splashing all over them. I am on my way to my second Sports Lawyers Association Conference (SLA): The genesis and inspiration for this very website and blog.
Flights have been canceled and delayed all morning due to inclement weather, and despite the hectic, multi moving parts of planning this entire trip for twenty-six other students as well as myself, I now stare at my own pathetic second cup of mediocre airport coffee and hope my connecting flight to D.C. is not also delayed. My cup is half full. Metaphorically and Literally.
As I wait, I mentally prepare to network with the largest association of arbitrators, general counsel, lawyers, and agents in the sports industry in the entire world. I skim my twitter, ESPN feed, and sports law updates to quickly keep up to date. I jot down a couple talking points for when I meet with the General Counsel of the New Orleans Saints during one of the cocktail receptions, a phenomenal woman I might add, and whom I will be working with next Spring during my 3L year. I also quickly send an email hello to the founder of the White Bronco, who has become a close associate and mentor figure over the year to me. I am excited to reconnect with these professionals and eager to meet many more!
This year is particularly exciting for me; I am now attending SLA as the President of the Tulane Sports Law Society. Not always as glamourous as the title may seem (flight delays, hotel issues, lost student’s registration forms, oh my,) but I am so grateful to have been elected this opportunity to represent the school, our society, and myself for a second time. Gabe Feldman, the Director of the Sports Law Program at Tulane Law, is my champion, mentor, and inspiration all in one during this process. I have him to thank for many of my success in law school thus far and now, I cross my fingers for a smooth three days at the conference.
And as I wait for the front desk attendant at American Airlines to politely mumble into the intercom about my flight update, I found the perfect and most relevant current event to share with you all:
On May 14, 2018 the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a 1992 federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states. Now, the ban on sports betting is found to be unconstitutional. This means that sports betting may now be more prevalent than ever, and no longer hidden in a black market.
The Leagues (and myself) are worried that this legal introduction to gambling in sports may taint the industry and bring an influx of interest into the betting aspect of the sport rather than the competitiveness and the entertainment of the game itself. So much for preserving the “integrity of the game…”
States, however, are given the right to set their own rules on sports betting, allowing many of them to catch up to the fun that Nevada previously (and copiously) allowed. The Supreme Court ruled the ban unconstitutional because they decided this right to determine the legality and boundaries of sports betting IS in fact a state issue, and that the federal ban was a violation of State rights.
Overall, this changes the sports industry tremendously both positively and negatively. I wonder how fans will react to being able to legally bet on games, how fantasy sports will change, and how, if at all, this could affect employees who work for sports leagues/teams.
I hope to find out more at SLAC18, hope to meet new and familiar faces, and share more of my journey and thoughts/updates with my readers again soon.
