Category Archives: Sports

Fantasy Sports Headed Back to Reality

Even the Wild West did not stay wild forever

Those who have been dreaming of making money in daily fantasy sports may be in for a rude awakening. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the 2 major players in the industry, DraftKings and FanDuel, questioning the self-regulatory methods of their contests. The recent scandal has shades of insider trading, where employees from each company would take the internal information (including player rankings, strategy, etc) and submit “teams” to the opposing company. Both companies have been advertising heavily with popular sports leagues like the NFL and MLB, leading many to believe they are very financially successful. The latest lawsuit was filed by a man from Watertown, MA (DraftKings is based in Boston, while FanDuel is based in New York City). Read More

Brady vs. NFL Lawsuit Full of Hot Air

Ball so hard

The saga of deflated footballs and a certain A-list quarterback have not left headlines since the winter of 2014. Now, months later, we are all following the twists and turns of the story, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s attempt to keep Tom Brady off the field in September. This seemed to be the final straw for Brady and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft to fire back at Goodell and the NFL, opting for a New York courtroom over the sunny, green fields of Foxborough, MA. There are several undertones here, including the NFL Players Association’s potential second thoughts about granting Goodell his current power, plus the Commissioner’s personal relationship with Kraft. How did letting air out of a football lead to a corporate showdown and legal dispute, centered around a high profile athlete? Read more

Mayweather-Pacquiao Promoters Get Jabbed

Jab, Cross, Hook

The sport of boxing has not had much of an impact on pop culture or news headlines in the past 20 years, and the latest event may have put the sport down for the count. The heavily-promoted match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has come under serious criticism for how uneventful and expensive it was, and now people are calling their lawyers. Multiple class-action lawsuits have been filed against all parties involved, especially the promoters of the fight itself. The pay-per-view main event charged $99 per household, with Mayweather winning in unexciting fashion; however it was revealed after the match that Pacquiao had a pretty serious shoulder injury. Plaintiff’s claim that they were duped into paying for the fight regardless of the promoters’ knowledge of the injury, choosing to “go on with the show” due to the massive amounts of money each company pulled in from advertising.

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Former Hockey Star Sues Referee on the Fly

A frosty relationship

Professional athletes and referees have never gotten along too well, but an NHL legend is bringing this disagreement with an official to the next level. Former Philadelphia Flyer Eric Lindros is suing referee Paul Stewart for defamation of character after the ref’s comments in an article for the Huffington Post. Early in the 1990’s, Stewart and Lindros had a disagreement during a game, which played into the controversial incident. Stewart claims that after the game, he approached the 19-year-old Lindros and asked him to sign some posters for a charity event. The referee claims Lindros ripped the posters in half, and proceeded to verbally assault him. The Flyer Captain has come out and defended himself, balking at the idea that he is unnecessarily hostile and not charitable. Lindros is seeking $250,000 from both Stewart and the Huffington Post for running the story. Read more

College Sued by Football Star’s Accuser

State of confusion

The woman who brought a lawsuit against Florida State’s quarterback is heading back to the courtroom. Citing a “hostile educational environment”, the plaintiff became famous for accusing the college’s athletic department for covering up rape allegations against Jameis Winston, the man under center for the Seminoles as they went undefeated in 2014. She cites Title IX, a civil rights law protecting the rights of all students under the Higher Education Amendment of 1972. The woman claims Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy Winner, sexually harassed her in 2012, but a case was never filed at the time. This latest lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando.

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