ABSTRACT
Governance of professional sport may be roughly divided into governance of team sports by professional sports leagues and governance of individual sports by players associations operating professional tours. This chapter first discusses the power of the commissioner of professional sports leagues in light of labor law, as well as the law underlying judicial review of commissioners’ decisions. An overview of antitrust law is provided next as a foundation to help you understand the remaining governance issues pertinent to the authority of professional sports leagues, including the legal structure of leagues, applications for sport franchises, team ownership, franchise relocation, rival leagues, and equipment regulation. The chapter then examines governance issues related to individual professional sports, including the organizational structure of tour players associations, control of events, equipment regulation, and disciplinary authority. Legal issues with respect to the governance of professional sport include contract law, labor law, the law of private associations, and limits on owners imposed by federal antitrust law. Exhibit 11.1 depicts the management contexts and applicable law discussed in this chapter.
