2019 Sports Law Symposium
Friday, March 8
10 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Kennedy Hall
Symposium Schedule
Welcome (10 a.m.)
Panel 1 – Legalization and Beyond: Navigating Cannabis’ Role in Sports (10:15 - 11:45 a.m.)
Despite cannabis being a banned substance across the four major American professional sport leagues and NCAA, a growing number of current and former professional athletes and scholars have begun advocating for its accepted use, citing health benefits. This panel will address how cannabis is currently utilized and its potential for utilization by athletes to identify and analyze relevant legal issues.
- Matt Barnes, NBA Small Forward and Champion
- Eben Britton, NFL Offensive Tackle
- Moderator: Jim McAlpine, President and Founder, The 420 Games
Luncheon Panel – In It To Win: Strategies To Expand The Presence and Fandom of Women’s Sport (11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.)
Successes of women’s sport teams and female athletes in the U.S. and abroad have led to greater calls for publicity and fan development of women’s sports and female athletes. This panel will highlight the unique approaches leagues, players associations, teams and athletes are taking to promote the growth and visibility of women’s sport, and examine the role athletes of both genders play in expanding female athletes’ notoriety.
- Jayne Appel-Marinelli, WNBPA Director of Player Relations and Former WNBA Player
- Cappie Pondexter, WNBA Point Guard, MVP and Two-Time Champion
- Steve Scebelo, Vice President of Licensing and Business Development, NFL Players Inc.
- Moderator: Dean Matthew Parlow, Fowler School of Law
Panel 2 – Sport Gambling in a Post-PASPA United States: Wins and Losses for the Sport Industry (1:45 - 3:15 p.m.)
This panel will identify, discuss and analyze the sport industry’s response to states’ new opportunity to legalize sports gambling as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Examining the legal nuances, opportunities and barriers to states’ decisions to legalize sport gambling within their borders, this panel will consider the strategic and ethical benefits and challenges the opportunity presents.
- Kip Levin, President and Chief Operating Officer, FanDuel Group
- Tamara Malvin, Partner, Akerman LLP
- Daniel Wallach, Principal of Wallach Legal, LLC, and the Co-Founding Director of the University of New Hampshire School of Law Sports Wagering and Integrity Program
- Jake Williams, Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Sportradar
- Moderator: Professor Celestine McConville, Fowler School of Law
Panel 3 – Athlete First: Cutting-Edge Strategies to Promote Player Well-Being (3:30 - 5 p.m.)
More than ever, professional sport leagues and teams are putting an emphasis on player well-being. The purpose of this panel is to identify cutting-edge approaches leagues, players associations and teams are taking to promote athlete mental and physical health. The panel will seek to identify standards of best practice in addressing the needs of athletes on and off of their fields of play.
- David Cohen, Head of Player Operations, Alliance of American Football
- Dr. William D. Parham, Professor, Loyola Marymount University and Director of Mental Health and Wellness, NBPA
- Metta World Peace, NBA Small Forward, All-Star and Champion
- Sheryl Swoopes, WNBA Shooting Guard/Small Forward, All-Star and Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist
- Moderator: Alicia Jessop (JD '09), Assistant Professor, Pepperdine University and Head of Player Career and Education, Alliance of American Football
Keynote Speech - Ned Colletti (5 p.m.)
Ned Colletti is the former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and executive-in-residence at Pepperdine University.
Book signing, The Big Chair: The Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from the Inside World of the Acclaimed Los Angeles Dodgers, by Ned Colletti with reception to follow.
