Sports

Competition is your life, and your business. In both, your ability to anticipate and handle what’s thrown at you can drive you to success – or, cause you to lose out. Unprecedented challenges are upping the ante on the field, on the court, and in the workplace: Collegiate athletes are pressing to gain “employee” status, harassment issues are surfacing at all levels, equal pay is more heavily scrutinized than ever, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant safety concerns. Meanwhile, you still must grapple with the same day-to-day issues facing any other employer. It’s no time to drop the ball.

With deep industry experience and more than 35 attorneys who were collegiate or professional athletes themselves, Fisher Phillips’ dedicated Sports Team knows your concerns first-hand and shares your passion. Our diverse group is long-time labor and employment counsel to professional franchises and leagues, collegiate conferences, individual colleges and universities, youth sports clubs and organizations, and other industry players – including sports television networks, eSports employers and league owners, stadiums, apparel companies and other sports-affiliated organizations. We help you comply with applicable laws and regulations, work up-front to avoid and manage controversies, and defend you fiercely before governmental, regulatory, and administrative agencies and, when necessary, in litigation.

HOW WE CAN HELP

We are experienced handling issues impacting your organization, your workers and athletes, including:

• Investigating and defending against allegations of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation
• Conducting equal pay evaluations and defending claims of unequal pay
• Workplace safety, including best practices concerning COVID-19 and vaccines
• Wage and hour laws, including athlete and worker classification issues
• Labor relations, including NLRB practice and procedure, development of positive employee relations strategies and representation of unionized employers
• Title IX and Civil Rights Laws (compliance, audits, government investigations, litigation)
• Contract negotiations
• NCAA and NAIA compliance, investigations and enforcement
• Use of an athlete’s name, image, and likeness (NIL)
• Trials, litigation and dispute resolution

We’ll also counsel you on myriad other workplace matters, such as:

• Preventing and training on harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the workplace
• Conducting trainings and providing strategic advice to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at your organization
• Crisis management
• Creating handbooks, policies, and procedures
• Team sales and acquisitions
• Preventive counseling and advice to promote compliance, appropriately enforce personnel policies, and avert litigation
• Pay equity
• Immigration
• Employee leaves and accommodations
• Departmental downsizing