Categories
Sports Agents

Sports Agents Should Go Green

The Philadelphia Eagles are off to a slow start in the 2007, but have been on a fast pace to become the most environmentally friendly professional sports team. The fact that the Eagles care about the environment may not directly translate to dollars in the bank, but the team’s owners may realize that life is not only about money. The Eagles use windpower to help fuel their stadium lights, recycle bins are scattered throughout the stadium, and tickets to the games are printed on recycled paper [NFL’s Greenest Team — and Not Just the Uniforms].

But the sports world should not just read some of these facts and say, “Wow, I am happy that a team is being environmentally conscious.” Instead, every sports entity including sports agents, should embrace the environment and do everything they can do protect Mother Nature.

Today is Blog Action Day, and I, along with 7,500+ other bloggers have signed up to post about a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment.

So what can we do? We can definitely follow the lead of fellow sports agent, Leigh Steinberg. This from an August 19th story in the Daily Pilot:

“We’re actually in plans to try to green sports in this country,” [Steinberg] said. “We have plans, renderings for solar panels that can power scoreboards, waterless urinals, wind turbines that can power the grid, and we’ve been out talking to owners, commissioners, and other people in the world of sports.

“When I was a child, I asked my father what he’d done in the war against a fascist dictatorship to keep the world safe. I think my kids will rightly ask me what I’ve done in the fight against global warming to keep their environment safe.” [Steinberg still big on green].

Steinberg talks to team owners about “greening up their franchises.” As sports agents, we wield a lot of power in the world of sports. Let us use some of our influence for a good project. Let’s follow Steinberg’s league and proactively lobby sports executives to go green whenever the opportunity presents itself.

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

4 replies on “Sports Agents Should Go Green”

Blog Action Day: The Environment

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talk…

Comments are closed.