Welcome to the Sports Law Biz Blog

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My name is Peter Ott. I am a University of Virginia Law Student (and soon-to-be graduate) and the founder of SportsLawBiz.com. Over the course of my law school studies, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about a number of sports law issues that have piqued my interest in this area. Many people, including me, love to watch sports and debate what is happening on the court or field. However, my time in law school has opened up my eyes to the fact that there is a whole host of interesting issues to discuss in sports besides the gameplay itself (the “game outside the game,” if you will).

As evidenced by @darrenrovell‘s 610,000 twitter followers, the large membership and reach of organizations such as the Sports Lawyers Association, and the reporting of legal and business issues in sports by news organizations such as Forbes, it’s clear that I am not the only person interested in these issues. On some days, it seems like ESPN reports more on the business and law of sports than it does on the actual play on the field by athletes. I have created this website as a way to help distill these issues down to a basic level, to help people understand them and discuss them.

Here are some examples of the kind of content this website will provide to readers and listeners:

  • Analysis of current sports law and business issues
  • Analysis of important historical sports law and business issues
  • Reviews of sports law and business literature (including books and articles)
  • Interviews with professionals involved in the sports industry
  • A weekly podcast dealing with sports law and business issues

I’m looking forward to posting about all of these things. I’d be happy to have others join me as well. If you’re interested in contributing to the Sports Law Biz Blog, feel free to reach out to me at sportslawbizblog@gmail.com.

For additional information about the website, please visit out “about” page.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I failed to thank Professor J. Gordon Hylton, one of my professors at UVA Law. My discussions with him after class about these issues inspired me to think more deeply about them and motivated me to embark on the project of putting this website together. He has been a great mentor and a role model to me, both inside and out of class. I’ve found that having a mentor who believes in you and is willing to help you as you learn makes all of the difference in the world.

Another inspiration for me is Sonny Vaccaro, who I had the pleasure to meet while putting on a Sports and Entertainment Law Symposium at UVA Law. Sonny is a legend in the sports business world, with a career spanning 30-plus years in the shoe industry and having been involved in negotiations with athletes from Michael Jordan to LeBron James. Now he’s a passionate crusader for what he sees as the gross inequities in college sports, where huge amounts of money change hands without college athletes receiving adequate compensation. Listening to Sonny speak about something he is passionate about inspired me to create this website so that I can share my passions with people. So that’s what I’ll aim to do.

To future posts and learning opportunities,

Peter Ott

#Sports#Sports Business#Sports Law

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