What Happens When the Cheering Stops? Rights of Publicity Issues and Other Practical and Legal Considerations for Retired Athletes

This course is the first of two programs that examine the rights to privacy of professional athletes and how such privacy rights translate into licensing programs for active and future players in professional sports. The first course looks at who is charged with enforcing such rights while a player is active and the void that is created once an athlete retires or members of a championship team go their separate ways. The presenter discusses a unique sports marketing concept that he developed on behalf of retired athletes to fill this void, protect the rights of retired athletes (focusing in groups of retired athletes that have either won a championship together and/or share a common significant accomplishment) and create revenue-generating opportunities for these athletes from streams that did not exist before.

This course sets the stage for the analysis of the significance of the landmark case Shamsky vs. Garan with special guest and the named plaintiff in the case, Art Shamsky, a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets in Part 2 of the Program. 

If you are a baby boomer and a sports fan, who can forget Curt Gowdy’s call of the last out of the 1969 World Series: “The Mets are the World Champions! Jerry Koosman is being mobbed. Look at this scene.” Similarly, which sports fan doesn’t get goose bumps when they hear Al Michael's call of the last few seconds of The Miracle on Ice? “Do You Believe in Miracles? Yes!”

Besides the “David vs. Goliath” angle and overcoming tremendous odds to achieve the unimaginable and reach the pinnacle of their respective sports, what else do these two iconic teams have in common? The answer is that both teams, over a decade after their respective heroic group efforts, were organized into legal marketing entities by our presenter. Against a backdrop of a significant anniversary of their unforgettable championships, both of these teams were legally incorporated and in the process took control of their collective marketing, licensing, sponsorships, appearances, memorabilia and other opportunities.

Presented almost 45 years to the day after the Miracle Mets shocked the baseball world and became a part of baseball immortality by winning the World Series, this program discusses the legal issues and practical considerations involved in organizing retired athletes.

Learning Objectives: 

I.   Understand how the legal landscape changes for: 

• professional athletes after they retire and/or;
• members of a team after they collectively win a championship

II.  Review an athlete’s right to privacy (both for individual athletes and members of a team as a collective unit)

III. Examine why unlawful commercial exploitation of an athlete’s right of publicity is more prevalent after they retire

IV. Recognize the practical considerations and legal challenges in organizing retired groups of athletes