Examining COVID-19's Global Impact on the Sports Industry and the Need for Future Legal Protection

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted professional and amateur sports in profound ways. The Olympics were postponed; Wimbledon was canceled. The NBA and NHL games were played in "bubbles" without audiences. Athletes and coaches tested positive. The economic losses for some sports and sporting events were staggering as gate revenues and stadium sales dropped to a more trickle of the past. Franchise sales and valuations dropped for a number of teams. The legal effects have begun to be felt, with issues of force majeure, the impossibility of performance, future risk management and liability, and the enforceability of sponsorship agreements, and labor agreements and their modification, to name a few.

This program will describe the effects of COVID on the operation of a number of sports organizations and the effectiveness of force majeure clauses and the need for future legal protections if there is such a pandemic in the future. It will then discuss the cancellation of matches, the safety rights of college and professional athletes, how the professional sports leagues attempted to restructure their contractual obligation, and health and safety questions surrounding testing. 

Presented by Professor Mark Conrad, this program will benefit attorneys who practice risk management, personal injury, sports governance, and contracts.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review how COVID-19 spread among teams and what sports leagues/organizations did to control the spread 

2. Discuss contractual issues and interpretation of force majeure clauses in the context of sports events

3. Predict how sports leagues and other entities will present matches and protect athletes and the public spectators 

4. Determine the course of labor and collective bargaining in the COVID era

5. Consider when sports as we knew it will come back