Panel 1: “Show Me the Money”—Becoming (and Remaining) a Professional Sports Agent

This panel will review the requirements for becoming a certified agent in each of the four major U.S. professional sports—football, baseball, basketball and hockey—before moving to a probing discussion of the practical realities of being an agent in this highly competitive environment. Experts in the field will share their personal experiences in developing and maintaining relationships with their player and coach clients, and will discuss league and union rules that govern their conduct during that representation. Panelists also will delve into NCAA regulations that limit agent contacts and communications with college athletes, their families and coaches for players who are thinking about “going pro,” and the consequences to players and their schools from missteps in those communications. This panel will also discuss the status of recent criminal cases against agents and others alleging improper payments in college sports programs, and the special Commission on College Basketball recently established by the NCAA in the wake of these allegations.

Panelists

  • Mark Levin, Director Salary Cap and Agent Administration, NFL Players’ Association
  • Michael Nicotera: Senior Partner and Director of Baseball Operations at The Sparta Group, LLC.
  • Rex Gary, Esq., Co-Founder of Turner-Gary Sports
  • Jason Belzer, Esq., President of Game Inc.
  • Jerrold Colton, Owner of CS Sports, Certified NHL and NFL Agent

Panel 2: If You Build It (Or Move It), They Will Come

This panel will explore the controversial subjects of professional sports team relocation and public financing of the construction of new stadiums, often the lure for moves to new cities. With the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers all slated to relocate and an expansion hockey team moving into a new stadium in Las Vegas, issues surrounding franchise relocation and stadium financing are of substantial current interest and public debate. More locally, the controversy surrounding the proposed construction of a new football stadium for the Temple football team underscores that these issues go far beyond big time professional sports teams.

Panelists

  • Irwin Raij, Esq., Sports Industry Group Co-Chair, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
  • Nick Sakiewicz, Commissioner, National Lacrosse League; former Operating Partner, New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union
  • Kenneth Jacobsen, Practice Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law; Founding Partner, Wilmington Blue Rocks Professional Baseball Club
  • Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Villanova University
  • Bill Bergman, Vice President of Public Affairs, Temple University

Lunch: Keynote Speakers

  • David Cohen, Esq., General Counsel, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Neil Hartman, Vice President Sports Programming, The Workshop; former Anchor, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

Panel 3: Commissioner as Judge and Jury—Analyzing Infractions and Penalties in Professional and Amateur Sport

This panel will discuss the recent criminal indictments in the NCAA, from pay-for-play to sexual misconduct, as well as provide an overview of the infractions and penalty systems in professional and amateur sports. Are they arbitrary? Do Commissioners try to make a statement by punishing players? How does the NCAA infractions process work? Join us as panelists from college and professional sports sit down to talk about these NCAA sanctions, the intricacies of professional league arbitration, and the consistency of the penalties and sanctions imposed.

Panelists

  • Fran Dunphy, Head Coach, Temple University Men’s Basketball
  • George Daniel, Esq., Managing Partner, Lanza, Reich & Daniel LLP; former General Counsel and Commissioner, National Lacrosse League
  • Jeremy Jordan, Ph.D., Associate Dean & Associate Professor, Temple University School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management
  • John Langel, Esq., (Retired) Litigation Partner at Ballard Spahr LLP

Panel 4: On Bended Knee or Raised Fist

This panel will discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding on field protests by professional athletes against social and racial injustice. Among the questions to be addressed: Do players enjoy a First Amendment right to protest? Is this a labor issue subject to collective bargaining? What is the power and authority of league Commissioners to regulate on field protests? What about the owners; can the players be “fired”? This panel will probe these legal and ethical issues without taking sides on the underlying but critically important reasons behind the protests.

Panelists

  • David Kairys, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Civil Rights Lawyer, Author
  • Terri Jackson, Director of Operations WNBPA
  • Matthew Graham, Legal & Player Affairs at the World Players Association
  • George Daniel, Esq., Managing Partner, Lanza, Reich & Daniel LLP; former General Counsel and Commissioner, National Lacrosse League

Panel 5: Jackpot or Bust?: The future of Sports Betting

This panel discusses recent legislation pertaining to sports betting and the effect it will have on professional sports. With the recent relocation of the former NFL Oakland Raiders and the new NHL expansion team in Las Vegas, what influence and effect will that venue have on sports betting? The panel also will discuss the highly anticipated Supreme Court decision on sports betting and its potential landscape altering impact nationally, and legal issues surrounding wagering in fantasy sports.

Panelists

  • Alan Milstein, Esq. Partner, Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky, P.A.
  • C.J. Fisher, Esq., Associate, Fox Rothschild LLP
  • George Diemer, Assistant Professor, Temple University School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

Post-CLE: Networking Reception

Opportunity for lawyers, panelists, law students and other attendees to network. Light refreshments will be served. The reception is complimentary for CLE participants. For non-CLE participants, please purchase the reception only option.