K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (May 19, 2023)

Sports:

• Soccer:
  • A New York federal judge showed mercy by allowing a former sports media executive to avoid jail for his 10-year course of international soccer bribery, after she was moved to tears by what she called the former exec’s “breathtaking and consequential” decision to cooperate with prosecutors – Tearful Judge Shows Mercy To ‘Extraordinary’ FIFA Witness – Law360
  • The Second Circuit must decide whether to pause its ruling reviving a contentious antitrust suit against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), after the USSF announced its intention to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and asked for a stay – US Soccer Seeks To Bring FIFA Antitrust Fight To High Court – Law360
  • The United Soccer Leagues (USL) Announced Plans for the USL Super League, a women’s professional league in the United States that would play from August to May and have filed an application Division I sanctioning, which would rival the already established National Women’s Soccer League – ‘We want to be competitive in the international marketplace’ – USL announces plans for a women’s professional league to rival the NWSL | Goal.com US
  • Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang has created the first global multi-club ownership structure for women’s clubs by has completing the purchase of European Women’s football powerhouse, Olympique Lyon – Washington Spirit & Lyon to form first ever global multi-club women’s football organisation led by Michele Kang | Goal.com US
  • Major League Soccer announced the award of the newest expansion franchise for the city of San Diego with a record expansion fee of $500 million to begin play in 2025 bringing the number of MLS clubs to 30 – Major League Soccer awards expansion team to San Diego | MLSSoccer.com
  • MLS urged a New York federal court to toss a Black coach’s lawsuit claiming the MLS’s lack of anti-discrimination policies caused several teams not to hire him because of his race with the league arguing it had no involvement in individual teams’ hiring decisions – MLS Says Coach’s Race Bias Claims Don’t Involve League – Law360
• NFL:
  • The Washington Commanders sale has been fully agreed between the Snyders and the investment group led by Josh Harris, however, the sale will not be put to a vote for approval by the rest of the league owners at the Spring League Meeting this May, meaning that the official sale’s effective closing will be delayed for some time – NFL says no vote on sale of Commanders will take place during Spring League Meeting
  • Recently retired NFL quarterback, Matt Ryan, has agreed to join CBS Sports as a NFL Analyst in another example of a star athlete moving into their post-playing careers with Ryan saying that he will “not shut any doors” on the possibility of returning to the gridiron – Matt Ryan will ‘not shut any doors’ on playing again after joining CBS Sports as NFL analyst – CBSSports.com
  • A former NFL executive with the Arizona Cardinals who recently accused the team’s owner of violating NFL rules and of workplace misconduct has added claims of defamation and invasion of privacy in an amended arbitration grievance to the NFL – Arizona Cardinals’ Ex-VP Adds Defamation Claim To Grievance – Law360
• Stadium Deals
  • Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s look to be relocating to Las Vegas after having reached an agreement to develop a new stadium on the 35 acre site of the Tropicana Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in a deal announced by Bally’s Corporation in conjunction real estate investment company, Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc., which will cost an estimated $1.5 billion including a potential $400 million in public funding that Nevada legislature will soon vote on – Oakland A’s reach agreement to develop Tropicana site for 30,000-seat Las Vegas stadium (yahoo.com)
  • The Arizona Coyotes will not be relocating to Tempe, AZ, after voters rejected a proposal for an entertainment district that included funding for a new arena – Voters reject plan for new Arizona Coyotes arena in Tempe: Will the franchise relocate? – The Athletic
• MLB
  • A New York state judge on Monday afternoon set a November 14, 2023, trial date in lawsuits filed by three minor-league teams against Major League Baseball and three franchises that canceled their affiliations when MLB contracted the minor leagues in 2020 – MLB Faces November Trial In Minor League Contraction Suit – Law360
• Golf:
  • All of the golfers who sparked the bombshell legal crusade against the PGA Tour have now all abandoned the suit in California federal court, leaving only the tour itself and its Saudi-backed competitor LIV Golf to litigate an increasingly testy antitrust and contract dispute – Sniping Continues As Players Bow Out Of PGA-LIV Brawl – Law360
  • In a further development in the PGA Tour v. LIV Golf litigation, a federal judge in California spared LIV Golf’s Saudi backer from discovery as it fights subpoenas in the Ninth Circuit, and also spurned the PGA Tour’s bid to stop discovery entirely in the heated litigation between the golfing promotions – Judge Draws Bright Lines Around Discovery In Golf Battle – Law360
• WNBA:
  • The WNBA announced a new multi-year deal with CarMax as one of the league’s “Changemakers” and a new member of its integral partnerships programs – WNBA adds CarMax as Changemaker partner on multiyear deal: What it means for the league – The Athletic
• NCAA:
  • The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) general counsel filed an anticipated complaint against the University of Southern California (USC), the Pac-12 Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), seeking to establish that certain collegiate student-athletes have union organizing rights – National Labor Relations Board issues complaint against NCAA, Pac-12 and USC – The Athletic

Entertainment:

• The US Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision that artist Andy Warhol ran afoul of copyright law through his use of a photograph of former musician Prince in a silkscreen. The Court rejected arguments by Warhol’s foundation that the work was transformative and amounted to fair use. The photographer who captured the image of Prince at issue, said copyright law would be “completely unworkable” under the standard sought by the foundation – Supreme Court rules against Andy Warhol foundation in copyright case (usatoday.com)
• Video game maker, Electronic Arts, announced that it has reached an image arrangement with OneTeam Partners to “facilitate collegiate athletes’ names and likenesses” by allowing NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players to opt-in to the game, solving one of the major questions about college football’s return to the video game space – EA Sports letting FBS players opt in to 2024 video game – ESPN
• A few weeks after shuttering VICE World News and canceling VICE News Tonight, VICE Media LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a process that is likely to result in the sale of the company to Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management for $225 million after once valued at over $5 billion – VICE Media LLC Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
• The Ninth Circuit vacated a Nevada federal district court order after ruling that the lower court did not adequately analyze a hand-balancing routine when it temporarily blocked Cirque du Soleil from performing the routine copyrighted by a pair of performers who weren’t hired back in the wake of the pandemic – 9th Circ. Vacates Block Of Cirque Du Soleil Routine In IP Row – Law360
• K.-based production company Op-Fortitude, created to make the film Operation: Fortitude, has filed suit against Martin Scorsese alleging that Scorsese accepted a $500,000 initial payment to personally assemble an all-star cast for the film and refused to return the money after doing no work for over a year – Martin Scorsese Sued Over $500,000 Fee to Produce WWII Film – The Hollywood Reporter
• A Louisiana federal judge declined to toss a costume mask maker’s lawsuit alleging All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and professional wrestler Austin Matelson infringed the company’s copyright by selling a modified version of its scaly viper mask, which Matelson wears as his stage persona Luchasaurus – Wrestler Luchasaurus Can’t Tap Out Of Mask Copyright Suit – Law360