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Friday Wrap-Up Headline

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (3/18/2011)

Post author By Darren Heitner
Post date March 18, 2011

Barak Netanya wishes you a Happy Purim. I am up in Atlanta, Georgia for the day, speaking to the student body at Emory University. I absolutely love this time of the year. I do not think there is a sport event as engaging as the NCAA Tournament. And the icing on the cake is that my Florida Gators looked really good last night. I don’t have them in my Final Four, but would be more than happy for my bracket to bust if it meant that the Gators make it to Houston. I just finished up another lengthy article. This one is co-authored and is focused on the October 2010 Amended MLBPA Agent Regulations. It was also just accepted for publication in the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal. Thanks to the excellent members of the board at Virginia and Harvard; I am thrilled to be a part of your Journals this Spring. Here are some stories I missed over the past week:

Football

Gregg Levy seems to have a good point [League claims decertification came too early to avoid “sham” defense].
He is the agent for Brian Robison and Ben Leber, who are both named plaintiffs in the Brady v. NFL case [Vann McElroy has ties to both of the antitrust cases].
But who is an “agent” without the NFLPA to certify them? [Sources: GMs to log all agent contact]
In case you get bored this weekend and want to read Tom Brady v. NFL [Class Action Complaint].
It actually could make bonuses easier to attain if there are any offseason workouts [Lockout threatens workout bonuses].

Basketball

Getting paid is still a problem in certain countries [Foreign teams may not be a great option for locked-out players next season].
Sam Porter says that market size doesn’t matter much if the team isn’t winning [If big markets are king, how about Beijing?].

Cricket

Allegations of a sports agent engaging in match-fixing [Cricketers in court over ‘cheating].

Tags basketball, Cricket, Football, Law, mlb, MLBPA, NFL, nflpa, Tom Brady

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.