HLS Panel Discusses College Sports

In the midst of March Madness, sports enthusiasts from across the nation addressed the legal framework of intercollegiate sports at Harvard Law School’s third annual Sports Law Symposium, hosted on Friday by the Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law.

This year’s panelists comprised some of the most influential figures in sports, including world champion skier Jeremy R. Bloom, Boston Celtics’ assistant general manager Mike Zarren—an HLS graduate—and keynote speaker Sonny Vaccaro, a leading figure in the world of basketball and an advocate for student athletes.

The conference brought together 36 panelists and 125 other attendees, representing 26 universities and many of the most prominent law firms and sports media outlets.

The five panels covered topics relating to the overarching theme of the conference, “The Changing Face of Intercollegiate Athletics: Amateurs, Academics and the Athletic Arms Race.”

The topic, which was chosen by members of CSEL with the support of HLS sports law lecturer Peter A. Carfagna ’75, reflected upon the transformation that intercollegiate athletics have already undergone into a multibillion dollar business.

The subjects of the panels focused on the illusion of “amateurism”—the notion that athletes are pre-professional—in inter-collegiate athletics.

Attendee Harry R. Lewis ’68, former Dean of Harvard College and Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, teaches a freshman seminar entitled “Amateur Athletics” that discusses many of the same topics.

“It was a great symposium,” Lewis said. “It just confirmed my suspicion that the NCAA is a tyrannical organization. It’s too bad they didn’t have a rep here. I’m sure it was not for want of trying.”

Second year law student and co-chair of the symposium organizing committee Xander Marcus ’09 said representatives of the NCAA were invited to the event.

“But, in fairness, this is a pretty busy time of year for them, what with the tournament and all.”

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which will reach its conclusion on April 4, is the most popular and visible event on the NCAA calendar, dominating much of Friday’s conversation.

The fourth panel of the day, “Litigating Against the NCAA,” was highlighted by the participation of NCAA men’s basketball champion, former UCLA star Ed O’Bannon and his legal counsel, Jon King.

O’Bannon, the lead plaintiff in the highly publicized class-action law suit O’Bannon v. NCAA, alleges that the NCAA is violating antitrust laws in barring former college athletes from profiting from NCAA or college-licensed products that use their images or likenesses, such as video games and merchandise sales.

Marcus said he believes that the best feature of this event is the opportunity it provides for personal interaction between attendees.

“It’s a networking opportunity in the best, least job-centric sense of the word,” Marcus said. “It’s about meeting people with similar interests and forming connections and relationships that are beneficial for everyone.”

“Sports law is a widespread discipline, but most schools don’t have more than one ‘sports person’,” Marcus said. “It’s great to provide a forum for them to talk to their peers.”