The Australian & New Zealand Sports Law Association

Sports Shorts E-Newsletter

Dear @{aspediacrm-person-firstname},

Welcome to the latest edition of the Sports Shorts E-Newsletter, providing up to the minute sports law news links to ANZSLA members.

Kind regards,

ANZSLA, the sports law association

Lamine Diack should serve four years in jail, French prosecutor tells court

French financial prosecutors have sought a four year jail sentence for Lamine Diack, the former head of the International Association of Athletics Federations, who is on trial for corruption and money laundering linked to the Russian doping scandal. According to the prosecutors, Diack and his son, Papa Massata Diack, were at the centre of a scheme in which bribes worth millions of dollars were given by Russian athletes to cover up failed doping tests.

Christian Coleman: World 100m champion provisionally suspended after third missed drugs test

United States sprinter and 100m world champion, Christian Coleman, has been provisionally suspended after missing a third doping test on 9 December 2019. Coleman, who disputed the missed test, claims he was 5 minutes away from home and the tester made no effort to contact him. The Athletics Integrity Unit confirmed the violation on the basis that it did not regard Coleman’s explanation as a defence, as it is not their policy to call an athlete if they’re not at their designated address.

Russia's RUSADA resumes sample collecting after COVID hiatus

Russia’s anti-doping agency, RUSADA, has announced that it will restart taking samples from athletes, a practice that was suspended in late-March 2020 due to coronavirus. Russia has the third-highest number of coronavirus infections in the worlds with more than 500,000 cases.

Broncos, FanDuel announce first NFL team betting partnership

National Football League (NFL) side the Denver Broncos has entered into a multi-year contract with FanDuel to make it the official sports betting and daily fantasy partner of the team. The agreement, which is the first of its kind between an NFL team and betting organisation, comes following the continued legalisation of sports betting throughout the USA.

NBA star Durant buys stake in MLS side Philadelphia Union

National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar, Kevin Durant, is the latest NBA player to buy into a another sport after he purchased a 5% stake in Major League Soccer team, the Philadelphia Union. The deal will see Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, work with the MLS side in pursuing marketing opportunities and growing the Union’s footprint worldwide.

UCI confirms transfer of anti-doping duties to ITA in 2021

The UCI’s Management Committee has agreed to transfer anti-doping activities from the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CAFD) to the International Testing Agency (ITA). According to the UCI, the move was first investigated after the Austrian investigation, Operation Aderlass, showed an ongoing doping problem in professional cycling. CADF strongly objected the move, saying that ITA would give fewer resources to cycling given it has agreements with various other sports. As part of the move, an agreement was struck with the ITA that a dedicated cycling unit would be created and all CADF employees would be given the opportunity to join this unit.

Fuji suspends bike sales to US police after violence against protestors

The North American distributor of Fuji Bicycles, BikeCo., has released a statement saying that it has suspended the sale of Fuji bikes to police forces following numerous incidents in which bikes have been used as weapons against protestors in the USA. BikeCo. also indicated that they were opening a dialogue with police departments over the use of Fuji Bikes and that sales would continue to be halted until real changes are made.

Dylan Alcott accuses US Open organisers of discrimination after wheelchair tennis is dropped for the 2020 event

Australian Paralympian and wheelchair tennis star, Dylan Alcott, has accused the US Tennis Association of blatant discrimination after it decided there would be no mixed doubles, juniors or wheelchair competitions at this year’s US Open tournament.

Port Adelaide prison bar guernsey push referred to AFL legal department, Eddie McGuire says

The battle over Port Adelaide Football Club’s use of the “prison bar” jersey has intensified after Eddie McGuire, Collingwood’s president, referred the matter to the Australian Football League’s (AFL) legal department. McGuire’s move comes after Port Adelaide launched an online petition to wear the historical black and white prison bar jersey in future matches against Adelaide rivals, the Adelaide Crows. Collingwood opposes Port Adelaide wearing the jersey, saying it clashes with their black and white colours. According to McGuire, he had agreed with Port Adelaide and the AFL that they would be allowed to wear the jersey this year, but given Port Adelaide is now pushing to use it in future years he decided to refer the matter to the AFL’s chairman, chief executive and legal team.

NBL's Illawarra Hawks finds new owners but name will lose local connection

The National Basketball League (NBL) has awarded the Illawarra Hawks licence to an international syndicate that will look to attract new fans. This comes after the NBL took back the licence from previous owner, Simon Stratford, following the team’s worst season on record. The new owners include former co-owner of the Sydney Kings, Dorry Kordahi, former NBA executive, Bryan Colangelo and American businessman Michael Proctor.

Boxer cleared of doping after sex excuse keeps Olympic dream alive

Boxer, Virginia Fuchs, has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after she successful argued her positive test for banned substances was the result of unprotected sex. After testing positive for the banned substances in an out-of-competition test in February, Fuchs found out her boyfriend has ingested the banned substances through products he purchased before the pair engaged in unprotected sex. After investigating the matter, USADA said that the trace amounts of banned substances found in Fuchs’ system were consistent with sexual transmission and determined the boxer did not intentionally cheat.

MLB thinks Manfred has framework with Clark, union stays mum

The Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, has flown from New York to Arizona to meet with the head of the MPL Players’ Association, Tony Clark, to discuss a plan to bring baseball back for the 2020 season. Following the meeting, which was the first time the pair had spoken in 3-months amidst the recent angry exchanges between the MLB and players regarding money, the pair emerged with what the MLB considers a framework that each leader can sell to their side. Under the plan, which includes full pro-rated pay for players (even if games are played in empty ballparks), each team would play 60 games over 10 weeks starting 20 July 2020.

New name, images, likeness lawsuit against NCAA could put hundreds of millions of dollars at stake

Attorneys acting on behalf of two college athletes have filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences which seeks unspecified damages, and asks that the NCAA be prevented from having rules that restrict the amount of name, image and likeness compensation available to athletes. Specifically, the claim for damages is based on the share of television rights money and social media earnings the lawsuit says athletes would have received but for the NCAA’s nil compensation rule.

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