Happy New Year. For @sportico.bsky.social, here are my top 5 sports law controversies from 2025 involving the NCAA, sports betting and the Department of Justice: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

This is the American Dream I was promised. Pop-Tarts Bowl culture is undefeated.

Diego Pavia’s lawsuit against NCAA gets even more interesting as he files motion demanding ex-JUCO football players gain another year or two of D-I eligibility. For @sportico.bsky.social, I analyze last night’s court filing + why Pavia—despite what he says—may want to stick around college football:

As 2025 ends, a key sports law + NIL dispute is playing out in two courts. Missouri's Damon Wilson II, who the Unversity of Georgia Athletic Association sued in Georgia for breaching NIL deal, countersues in Missouri. Says he never signed an enforceable deal. College sports should 👀 this case:

This is a pretty cool skeet. Receiving end of an assist from the actual Michael Jordan of Sports Law.

Thank you, Cody, and thank you for your excellent assistance in these projects. You've been the Michael Jordan of research assistants!

Honored my chapter in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education (Oxford University Press), a peer-reviewed scholarly source for researchers, teachers & students, was recently published. My chapter is "Student Athletics and Students as Employees in Higher Education." oxfordre.com/education/di....

This story Carl Nassib told on RC's pod about coming out in the NFL cracked me up. His delivery is so good!

This thread. Such a tireless effort by Mr. Brown. And yes, he should sue. No brainer.

this is a publicly filed PPT of the Plaintiffs' presentation from the Patterson v. NCAA hearing today. drive.google.com/file/d/1wW_j...

Days after FIFA awarded Trump a fake peace prize, DOJ moves to drop charges in FIFA corruption case www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/n...

The five power conference commissioners urge a federal court to uphold NCAA eligibility rules as Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson's federal lawsuit could lead to five years of NCAA eligibility. The times they are a-changin'. I have details + analysis for @sportico.bsky.social:

Michigan had been alerted prior to Wednesday that Sherrone Moore was dealing with mental health issues yet Warde Manuel fired him alone with no HR rep and no security present, source told NBC Sports.

The failure of the SCORE Act—the latest example of a bill in Congress that would reform college sports and that failed to advance despite much hype—is further proof that universities should focus on creating rules for athletics that comply with existing laws. My @sportico.bsky.social legal column:

Lane Kiffin and other college coaches have signed massive employment contracts that let them easily drop their school and players. They've done so as universities face major budget problems and are laying people off. College presidents should just say no. My @sportico.bsky.social column:

College football programs pooling media rights is not the solution to financial pressures facing colleges, I argue in a new @sportico.bsky.social column. It would present antitrust issues and power conferences probably wouldn't want to share with other conferences: www.sportico.com/law/analysis...

PTFO collaborated with @msjpauly.bsky.social and @motherjones.com on an investigation into Riley Gaines. Riley’s messaging about trans athletes involves “predatory men” and “sexual assault.” But there’s an important story multiple ex-teammates at Kentucky want you to know: youtu.be/iKUl8lkuGOc?...

This is the most important story I've had the chance to contribute to since I started writing legal commentaries in 2007. When powerful institutions protect monsters, those monsters roam free to hurt others.

No one should flee the United States to evade a criminal charge, but if one were to do that, the United Arab Emirates is not the place to go. I have more for @sportico.bsky.social on Antonio Brown's latest legal saga: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

Attorney Darren Heitner scores a big win for his client, Idaho State forward Caleb Van De Griend, who sued the NCAA for eligibility. Judge awards a restraining order to let him play. His play in Australia complicated his status but judge says he can play. I have more for @sportico.bsky.social:

As students in my labor & employment law course at UNH Law know, we spend a lot of time on lockouts and strikes and how they're not synonymous. The WNBA labor dispute is about a potential strike, not a lockout. WNBA & players can also operate their league—for years—with an expired CBA:

If successful, the appeal of the House Settlement to the Ninth Circuit would upend the new NCAA system, with litigation going back to the docket and amateurism returning. The appeal is based on Title IX. But does Title IX apply to an antitrust settlement? My take for @sportico.bsky.social :

For most of the country's history, Congress has punted sports betting law to the states. That could change in the wake of the NBA gambling scandal. The federal government could play a more instrumental role. But would states then sue? My @sportico.bsky.social take: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

Gambling isn’t the only eye-catching part of Thursday’s federal indictment in the NBA betting case. It also puts tanking back in the spotlight by alleging that the 2022-23 Blazers intentionally lost games (and leaked inside info about said strategy) My take: www.sportico.com/leagues/bask...

“The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure our members are protected and afforded their due process rights through this process,” - NBPA

you've gotta admit the NCAA has an incredible sense of comic timing

The @nba.com has placed Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier on “immediate leave” amid gambling charges. Full statement below:

Expect to see the NBA criticized for not catching illegal gambling, but remember leagues lack the powers—including the power to intimidate witnesses—of the feds. My @sportico.bsky.social take on today's huge NBA news + what it means for prop bets, which even betting advocates admit are problematic:

the NBA wishes it only had the Kawhi scandal now

"Trump is coming. He's coming...Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what's going on today...this is just the tip of the iceberg" - Stephen A. Smith

FBI director Kash Patel: “We are here in New York to announce a historic arrest across a wide, sweeping criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Cora Nostra.” Adds it involves the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese crime families.

The official charges against Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups are money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. He will appear in Federal Court in Portland later this afternoon and be arraigned on his indictment in Brooklyn at a future date, according to the FBI.

BUMP

Ya! I think its official... The NBA has a gambling crisis going on.

Brown v. OHSSA challenges Ohio's prohibition on high school athletes signing NIL deals. The case could end if Ohio drops its ban, but if that doesn't happen, it presents an interesting legal question: Does amateurism carry more weight at the high school level? My @sportico.bsky.social column:

It's an honor to have a byline in @rollingstone.com—that's not something I ever expected to happen in my career—but much more important is the chance to help @lukecyphers.bsky.social expose a major scandal at a youth basketball program and, we hope, help to bring some justice to the survivors.

All this talk of private equity entering college sports often overlooks the legal ramifications: College athletes will be able to more persuasively argue they're employees of their schools and their conference, and they constitute a labor market under antitrust law: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

From 2025 league MVP to Finals MVP 🏆 A'ja Wilson averaged 28.5 PTS, 11.8 REB, and 2 BLK against the Mercury and is named Finals MVP for the 2nd time in her career #WelcometotheW | WNBA Finals | YouTube TV

A'ONE OF ONE ✨ A'ja is the ONLY player with 300 points in a single WNBA postseason! 👏

1) Real 2) Lol 3) It's Week 7 of Year 1

Even in the 1950s, when the NBA was earning one-tenth (in 2025 dollars) what the WNBA makes today, it still paid players 40% of total revenue, a startling contrast to the 7% WNBA players get.” If W players got 50% of revenue, star players, “should each be earning more than $3 million per year.”

NEW: Collectives have given up on waiting for NIL Go. At least two NIL collectives have begun to pay players before the submitted deals have been approved in NIL GO, sources tell @FOS. Another is preparing to do so. frontofficesports.com/fed-up-nil-c...

The written version of Napheesa Collier’s statement. I don’t know how Cathy Engelbert survives this.

NEW: Vandy use to be the laughingstock of the SEC. But now, they're 4-0 and ranked 18th. At the helm is QB Diego Pavia, who filed a watershed lawsuit against the NCAA last year to grant him extra eligibility. Now, two of his teammates are suing as well. frontofficesports.com/vanderbilt-w...