In recent years, there have been many law cases that have influenced the world of sports. One case that had a direct impact on the sport of baseball was a case called Gionfriddo vs. Major League Baseball. In 2001, four former Major League Baseball players who played in the Major leagues between 1932 and 1948, Pete Coscarart, Dolph Camilli, Frankie Crosetti, and Al Gionfriddo filed suit against Major League Baseball (MLB), for violating their common law and statutory right of publicity by publishing data, statistics, photographs and video depictions of the players without their permission or compensation. This information was made available publicly through MLB’s website. The purpose of this case was to determine whether the published information constituted “commercial speech” under the First Amendment, entitling it to a reduced level …show more content…
According to (Right to Publicity and Copyright of Statistics, 2005) the "right" to publicity is more of a merge of rights which have now been widely accepted. Specifically, with regard to baseball, the right to publicity initiated from Haelan Labs v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., where it was determined that a person has a right to their photograph and the publicity value of their photograph (Right to Publicity and Copyright of Statistics, 2005). The Supreme Court assumed the right to publicity as an independent legal right in 1977. Currently, the right has been reduced to writing in the Restatement of Unfair Competition and states have adopted the right to different circumstances. Section 46 of the Restatement of the Law Third, Unfair Competition, states in applicable part: "One who appropriates the commercial value of a person's identity by using without consent the person's name, likeness, or other indicia of identity for purposes of trade is subject to liability for the relief
McKichan v. St. Louis Hockey Club, L.P. was a personal injury case filed on March 17, 1998, in which the plaintiff claimed that the defendant club was vicariously liable for their employee’s actions that caused the plaintiff’s injury. The injury in question occurred in Peoria, Illinois during an IHL game on December 15, 1990 between the Peoria Rivermen and the Milwaukee Admirals. While the St. Louis Hockey Club technically wasn’t playing in the game, they can be held liable for the injury, as the Peoria Rivermen are a subsidiary of the club. During the third period of said game, the defendant, Stephen McKichan, a goalie for the Admirals, was both injured and rend unconscious by a body-check from a Peoria player. This body-check occurred after play was stopped due to the hockey puck floating out-of-bounds. Also, the defendant player ‘s body-check had occurred after the referee had blown his whistle twice to signal the play stoppage. After the injury, the defendant’s player received a game misconduct and a suspension. The player would also go on to settle with the plaintiff out
It is unknown at this time whether the claims in Senne are viable enough to stand up in court. But by drawing from what has worked elsewhere, MLB can be ahead of the curve. By proactively improving the minor leagues, MLB can both address the plaintiffs’ legitimate concerns and make life better for their young talent.
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
Throughout the history of America’s pastime, baseball has continually battled scandals and controversies. From the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal to the current steroid debate, baseball has lived in a century of turmoil. While many of these scandals affected multiple players and brought shame to teams, none have affected a single player more than the 1980’s Pete Rose betting scandal. Aside from the public humiliation he brought his family and the Cincinnati Reds, nothing has done more to hurt Pete Rose than his lifetime ban from baseball making him ineligible for hall of fame. While many are for and against putting Pete Rose in the hall of fame, the four ethical theories, Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Egoism, and Ethical Realism, each have their own unique answer to the question. Through Kantianism Pete Rose should be inducted into the hall of fame, while Egoism, Utilitarianism and Ethical Realism all support the lifetime ban.
The past fifteen years of baseball have contained dirty play by some of the best players to ever play the sport. Kids all over America look at these athletes as role models. The money hungry players proceed to send a terrible message to fans of the game by taking drugs to succeed. After commissioner Bud Selig cracked down on steroid use in 2005, several baseball player’s legacies have been ruined due to steroid allegations. Players are even being charged with perjury by lying to Congress over steroid use to protect their reputation.
The Supreme Court exercised its interpretation of the Constitution and found that a violation of the First Amendment was apparent and therefore, also a violation of the fourteenth Amendment showing that due process of the law was not given.
Performance enhancing drugs have been a longstanding problem in sports. It not only deteriorates the honesty of the game, but also can have broader social affects that one may not even realize. The use of performance enhancing drugs is especially apparent in Major League Baseball. This problem can be traced back to the 1980’s when baseball was facing one of its first “dark periods”. During the 1980’s Major League Baseball was experiencing a home run drought. Home run totals were down as far as they had been since Babe Ruth, and fans were seemingly becoming bored with the sport. The lack of home runs was a growing concern for players whose salary relied on home run totals. Players needed to find a quick way to boost their power and performance in order to keep the sport alive and to keep bringing in their paychecks. This desire for fame and fortune introduced steroids into Major League Baseball in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Home run totals jumped tremendously during these decades and players were willing to risk being caught using illegal substances in order to shine above the rest. New idols and role models started to sprout up from these outstanding home run statistics and young children started to take notice. This all came tumbling down when these new idols and role models who were making the big bucks and hitting the ball out of the park tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Here lie the affects of a growing social problem in sports. These famed athletes become walking advertisements and promotions for the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The influence professional athletes have over aspiring young athletes is very powerful and these roles models make it seem acceptable to use performance ...
Kuhn case eventually escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972. In a 5-3 decision, Flood lost the case as the majority of judges believed that baseball was exempt from antitrust laws since they believed baseball was not business. Although Flood lost the case, his challenge led to other players fighting the reverse clause in order to eliminate it from sports. Arbitrator Peter Seitz opposed the verdict created by the Supreme Court at the end of 1975. He stated that MLB players possessed the right to turn into free agents after playing for their team for one year without a contract. This caused the elimination of the reverse clause from all sports. Additionally, the MLB also included regulations for the arbitration of salary demands. Players could now negotiate their salary once their contract was expired, providing them the ability to seek higher salaries. Furthermore, in 1976, the MLB and MLBPA formed an agreement to permit players who had a minimum of 6 years of experience to become free agents. Other leagues such as the NFL, NHL, and NBA later adopted a similar
The Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court in March 1857 was one of the major steps
When looking into the history of our culture, there are many subtopics that fall under the word, “history.” Topics such as arts and literature, food, and media fall into place. Among these topics reside sports. Since the beginning of time, sports have persisted as an activity intertwined with the daily life of people. Whether it is a pick-up game of football in the backyard, or catching an evening game at the local stadium, sports have become the national pastime. According to Marcus Jansen of the Sign Post, more specifically, baseball is America’s national pastime, competing with other sports (Jansen 1). Providing the entertainment that Americans pay top dollar for, live the role models, superstars, and celebrities that put on a jersey as their job. As said in an article by Lucas Reilly, Americans spend close to $25.4 billion dollars on professional sports (Reilly 4). The people that many children want to be when they grow up are not the firefighters or astronauts told about in bed time stories. These dream jobs or fantasies have become swinging a bat or tossing a football in front of millions of screaming fans. When asked why so many dream of having such job, the majority will respond with a salary related answer. In today’s day and age, the average athlete is paid more than our own president. The cold hard facts show that in professional sports, the circulation of money is endless. Certain teams in professional baseball and football are worth over millions of dollars. Consequently, the teams who are worth more are able to spend more. The issue that arises with this philosophy is virtually how much more? League managers, team owners and other sports officials have sought out a solution to the surfacing problem. Is it fair to let...
Jiobu, Robert M., “Racial Inequality in a Public Arena: The Case of Professional Baseball”. Social Forces , Vol. 67, No. 2 (Dec., 1988), pp. 524-534 Oxford University Press
Claim: As the growth of baseball’s popularity attracted commercial interest of the sport began to
Professional sports were beginning to be organized in the 1850s. At this point, their salaries, although they were still higher than the average person’s, were not too outrageous. In the 1880s and 90s, baseball players in particular were making on average about $1,750 annually. Even though this was three times the salary of an industrial worker of the time, they were not happy with this amount of money and felt they should be earning more (Baseball n.d.). In the 1970s, the worlds of professional sports took a drastic turn. According to an article by J.L. Carnagie, “Two words described sports in the 1970s: big business. Owners and athletes in major professional team sports knew there was money to be made in their games, and they went after it.” (Carnagie, n.d.) Athletes, especially, realized how competitive teams were becoming, and they were well aware that talent was in high demand. In the beginning of 1980s, the best athletes were demanding even more money; and the majority of the time, they got what they wanted. By end of the 1980s, many athletes were making over a million dollars (Carnagie, n.d.) These increasing salaries were very ironic because when professional sports began they were intended to be a showcase of players’ talent and athletic ability. Professional sports leagues were also supposed to be similar to the Olympics in that they would be free of politics and influence of society. However, by the 80s, they had become all about the star athletes and how much money they could make. By this point, professional sports had evolved into an industry that was focused on entertainment and money, rather than the sports actually being played (Carnagie, n.d.).
The problem of steroid use in baseball came into the national spotlight during the 1990s. It was during this time that home run records were being broken at an incredible pace. It was also during this period when several famous baseball players began to speak out about steroid use in baseball. The most controversial expose about steroid use in baseball is perhaps that of Ken Caminiti in 2002. Caminiti admitted publicly that he was using steroids when he won the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1996 and in the several seasons following that. That revelation of his drug use highlighted the issue of steroid use in baseball. From that point on, the professional baseball league was under constant scrutiny from the public as well as from the federal agencies. Many had criticized Major League Baseball as ineffective in its efforts to address the issue of steroids use in professional baseball. When the BALCO incident exploded in late 2003 and affected many big name players in baseball, the public and Congress demanded answers from the accused baseball players. It was then that steroid use in baseball sparked media frenzy and legisl...
This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...