Ultimate Sports Rankings

• Home
•     Suggestions
•    New Questions
•    Question of the Week
•   Forum

Categories

• Greatest Athletes & Teams
• American Football
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Hockey
• Soccer Football
• Motor Sports & Auto Racing
• Golf
• Tennis & Racquet Sports
• Boxing
• Track & Field
• Horse Racing
• Bowling
• Swimming & Diving
• Skiing
• Figure Skating
• Gymnastics
• Wrestling
• Volleyball
• Martial Arts
• Cycling
• Lacrosse
• Ultimate Frisbee

Daily Article for 2021-12-30

Should the NBA and NFL be Allowed to Exclude Players under the age of 21 from Playing? by Mark D. Hauser

The NBA and NFL are the only major sports organizations that prohibit players from entrance until a prescribed period after high school graduation. Maurice Clarett is well known for unsuccessfully challenging the NFL's rule that a player must be out of high school for three years to be eligible for the entry draft. Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin initially ruled that the NFL could not bar Clarett from participating in the 2004 NFL Draft. This decision was later overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Clarett's higher appeal was refused by the Supreme Court.

Drafts are permissible under anti-trust law because they are included in collective bargaining agreements between leagues and labor unions representing players. In siding with the NFL, the Appellate Court stated that the labor market for NFL players was organized around a collective bargaining relationship that was provided for and promoted by federal labor law. The court concluded that this was not a case in which the NFL was alleged to have conspired with the union to drive its competitors out of the market for professional football.

The NFL is subject to the nonstatutory labor exemption and is therefore immune from antitrust liability. NFL clubs could therefore act jointly in setting terms and conditions of players� employment without risking antitrust injury.

Comments

No Comments!

Past Articles

Should the NBA and NFL be Allowed to Exclude Players under the age of 21 from Playing? by Mark D. Hauser
The 25 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers of All Time by Mark D. Hauser
Soccer will Never be Popular in the United States by Mark D. Hauser
Evaluating the Big O, West, Baylor, Malone, and Barkley: What's Fair? by Mark D. Hauser
Finally! A Possible Solution to the NBA Age Related Draft Mess by Mark D. Hauser
Who's the Greatest of All Time in a Particular Sport? by Mark D. Hauser
Fight Measures on the NHL Agenda by Hakan Lane
Why are There so Many Dumb Sports Opinions out There? by Mark D. Hauser