5 Things to Know Before the 2023 MLB Opening Day

The 2023 MLB regular season is almost upon us! It wouldn’t surprise me if some of you are less enthusiastic than others or are just completely indifferent about it, especially since general viewership has decreased over the past three decades with fan attendance sharply decreasing whether it be due to weather, costs, personal income relative to cost-of-living, ballpark accessibility, COVID, or the real time and emotional commitment it takes to sit through a game. Commissioner Rob Manfred has been well aware of this issue & obviously wants to grow professional baseball to continue to make more money. So, the joint Competition Committee, which was created according to the recently negotiated MLB-MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement & is comprised of six MLB representatives, four players, & one umpire, approved three rule changes this past October to make the game more attractive to fans by increasing the game’s pace of play and the action on the field. These rules are technically in place now during Spring Training, but these rule changes along with a couple other operational adjustments will be on full display come the regular season.

Jaime, MLBJaime MiettinenMarch 7, 2023professional sports, MLB, Rule changes, Opening DayComment

2019 Sports Law Hot Topics to Watch

The annual January tradition I know y’all look forward to is here - my predictions on what will be the hottest of the sports law hot topics! I settled on selecting six topics this year, and I must say, it was wonderfully hard to narrow down the list because there is a lot of meat we will get to digest over the next 12 months. (Disclaimer: I think #1 will be the hottest of the hot, but that may be my bias talking since that is one of my main wheelhouses!)

That said, I would also like to remind those of you who may be newly acquainted with the concept of “sports law” that, in all honesty, there is technically no such thing as “sports law,” per se. Rather, what a handful of attorneys and I do is specialize in understanding and zealously advocate to resolve diverse legal issues that take place within the sports industry because the law often treats sports in a special way relative to pretty much every other industry out there.

Keep reading for a brief descriptions of each topic’s current status, why I am including it on this list, and a few Twitter handles to follow for the latest news and analysis throughout the year:

How the NCAA Could Join MLB in an Extremely Exclusive Club

Guest Post by Derek Helling

As the sports world awaits the ruling of Judge Claudia Wilken in Alston v. NCAA, her ruling is likely merely the overture for this drama. Her opinion is almost guaranteed to be appealed to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regardless of what it entails.

In the 9th is where the possibility lies for a ruling that could entrench the parameters of college athletics and put the NCAA on equal footing with one of the most powerful entities in the US as far as antitrust law is concerned, Major League Baseball. To understand this possible course of events, it’s necessary to understand the precedent which could be drawn upon.

Antitrust, Guest Post, MLB, NCAADerek HellingJanuary 14, 2019Alston, NCAA, Sherman Act, Kenesaw Mountain LandisComment

Looking Back At Sports' Legal Happenings On This Day, February 16

IF YOUR BRAIN NEEDS A BREATHER FROM FIFA, DAILY FANTASY SPORTS, & PEYTON MANNING, THIS IS FOR YOU. HERE ARE A FEW QUICK FLASHBACKS AT WHAT TOOK PLACE ON THIS DAY IN "SPORTS LAW" HISTORY.

11 YEARS AGO...

Jaime, Labor Law, MLB, Civil, NCAA, CBA, NHLJaime MiettinenFebruary 16, 2016Alex Rodriguez, lockout, OJ Simpson, Heisman TrophyComment

In Memoriam: The New York Giants & Brooklyn Dodgers

Whether you hope "Back to the Future 2" is correct (that the New York Mets win the World Series in 2015) or prefer the dodgers to advance, let us pay tribute to the event in the legal world of sports that paved the way for the mets franchise to exist and may have unintentionally created some heat between the teams in this series - the 1957 relocation of two of New York's first professional baseball franchises, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

MLBPA & Klean Athlete Partnership Offers a Way to Keep Baseball Clean

IN THE ENCOURAGING WORDS OF CELINE DION, "A NEW DAY HAS COME," OR AT LEAST WE HOPE SO FOR THE SAKE OF THE MLB'S CREDIBILITY IN THE FUTURE. THE BEST PART IS THAT IT IS JUST IN TIME FOR THE ALL-STAR BREAK AND VARIOUS HONORABLE EVENTS, LIKE THE HOME RUN DERBY, BEING HELD THIS WEEK.

Indeed, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) entered uncharted territory in the business world, and it involves a component that has has been a major hot topic for over a decade. Professional baseball is changing its strategy to incentivize its athletes to steer clear of products that may lead them - intentionally or unintentionally - to breach the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and place their future in the league in jeopardy.

The MLBPA and Klean Athlete Nutritional Supplements, an NSF Certified for Sport® line, have formed a non-exclusive partnership that is self-described on Klean Athlete's homepage as a "first-of-its-kind partnership designed to optimize nutritional health and well-being of players."

Jaime, MLB, Performance Enhancement, CBAJaime MiettinenJuly 13, 2015MLBPA, Klean Athletes, nutritional supplements, partnershipComment