K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (June 18, 2024)

Sports:

• The U.S. Twirling Association and a coach must pay nearly $4.2 million to a baton twirler who was sexually assaulted as a minor during a sponsored international trip, a New York federal jury has found, saying the organization was negligent when handpicking a chaperone. Twirling Org. Must Pay $4.2M For Sexual Assault Of Teen Athlete – Law360
• Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who made national headlines in 2022 after winning an NCAA individual title, will not be allowed to compete in elite women’s races, including the 2024 Olympics, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled this week that she lacks standing for her challenge to the rules of swimming’s world governing body. Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas loses challenge of rules barring her from elite women’s races – CNN
• The longstanding antitrust feud involving the top level of soccer in the United States is headed for a jury trial this September-litigation that could reshape the pro game in the U.S. and Canada. The dispute pits the North American Soccer League (NASL), a men’s league that operated between 2011 and 2017, against U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer (MLS). S. Soccer, MLS Brace for Antitrust Trial in NASL Lawsuit – Sportico

NCAA

• Former Utah Jazz forward Thurl Bailey and nine teammates from the 1983 NC State men’s basketball championship team sued the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company in a North Carolina superior court Monday over what they contend is the unlawful and continued use of their NIL and publicity rights from their famed tournament run. (The team was nicknamed the “Cardiac Pack” for its penchant to win in overtime or by a single point.) Ex-NC State Players Bring O’Bannon-Inspired Lawsuit Over NCAA Footage – Sportico
• NCAA champion Kensey McMahon has been out of the water competitively since last summer and on Tuesday revealed that she tested positive for a banned substance and has lost her appeal. McMahon wrote in an Instagram post that on July 7, 2023, she received a call from a USADA representative that said her July 1 in-competition sample tested positive for an “estimate of .05 ng/mL of Vadadustat.” She was immediately suspended for four years. NCAA Champion Kensey McMahon Opens Up About Positive Test, Failed Appeal – Swimming World

MLB

• Major League Baseball said Friday night it has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league’s gambling rules, and that he is being held out of games during this season while an appeal is considered. MLB acknowledged the existence of the investigation in response to inquiries from The Athletic. MLB umpire Pat Hoberg disciplined for violating gambling rules – The Athletic

GOLF

• The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are reportedly on the brink of a significant merger, following the signing of a ‘draft agreement’ ahead of the US Open. This news comes from Alan Shipnuck, the controversial biographer of Phil Mickelson, who claims that a draft deal has been signed between PGA Tour Enterprises and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. His source is a ‘prominent agent’ with clients in both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. PGA Tour and LIV Golf move closer to merger with new draft agreement – Irish Star

 NFL

• DirecTV gouged its Sunday Ticket subscribers by charging 24.6% above the “optimal price” it should have charged if the company was looking to maximize its profits instead of instituting an “NFL tax,” an economist told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the league on Thursday. DirecTV’s ‘NFL Tax’ Gouged Sunday Ticket Buyers, Jury Told – Law360

Entertainment:

MUSIC

• Pink Floyd secured an emergency order blocking a website from using the band’s name on apparel and other products, days after suing the website for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise and using offshore bank accounts to evade detection. Court orders domain of unofficial Pink Floyd merch website to be disabled (completemusicupdate.com)
• The lead singer of Motown group The Four Tops has sued a hospital in MI federal court, claiming in a complaint that hospital staff treated him as if he was mentally ill when he said he was a famous singer and made racially charged comments to him. Four Tops singer sues Detroit hospital for racial discrimination, mistreatment (metrotimes.com)
• Apparel brand JR World LLC accused one of rapper Drake’s production companies of infringing its trademarks by selling t-shirts with the “iconic” “Members Only” mark at the artist’s It’s All A Blur Tour. Drake Merch Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Trademark Infringement (digitalmusicnews.com)
• The National Music Publishers’ Association, a trade group that represents music publishers and songwriters, filed a complaint with the FTC about Spotify’s decision to provide audiobooks to subscribers, which resulted in reduced royalty payments to songwriters. NMPA’s Spotify Bundling War Continues With FTC Complaint & More (billboard.com)

FILM & TELEVISION:

• Visual effects company Rearden has settled one of the last remaining lawsuits over the unlicensed use of its motion-capture technology by major Hollywood studios, this time with Paramount for the 2015 film Terminator Genisys. Paramount, Disney, Fox Settle Lawsuits Over Stolen VFX Tech (hollywoodreporter.com)
• Alec Baldwin‘s legal team has urged an NM state judge to prevent prosecutors from calling a convicted Rust film armorer to testify against the actor-producer during his upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial in the on-set shooting death of a cinematographer. Alec Baldwin Fights Prosecutors’ Attempt to Force Convicted “Rust” Armorer to Testify at His Trial (yahoo.com)
• Disney and Lucasfilm’s counsel on urged a CA federal judge to dismiss Star Wars actor Gina Carano‘s wrongful firing suit, arguing in a hearing that they have a 1^st Amendment right to disassociate their artistic expression from her public statements mocking pronouns and criticizing COVID-19 lockdowns. Mandalorian Lawsuit: How Gina Carano, Disney Are Battling In Court (hollywoodreporter.com)
• Paramount Pictures has asked a CA federal court to dismiss a right of publicity complaint from the actor who played Henry “Wolfman” Ruth in the original Top Gun movie, saying his claim over a photo of his character included in the film’s sequel without his permission falls squarely under the so-called Rogers test, a free speech doctrine that protects expressive works. Paramount Asks Court To Send ‘Top Gun’ IP Suit Packing – Law360

MEANWHILE, IN HOLLYWOOD…

• The winner of the first season of the TV series Survivor asked an RI federal court to toss the government’s case against him seeking nearly $3.3 million in unpaid taxes, saying the liabilities stem from his flawed criminal conviction for tax evasion nearly 20 years ago. First ‘Survivor’ Winner Wants $3M Tax Case Tossed – Law360 Tax Authority