K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - April 2024 #3

Sports:

• A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned the West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, finding that it violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. The ruling comes amid a wave of anti-trans legislation cropping up across the country, as well as efforts to fight back against it. The ban in West Virginia was originally signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice in 2021 and introduced as the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” It required that any official or unofficial school-sanctioned event involving athletics determine each athlete’s participation in the event “based on the athlete’s biological sex as indicated on the athlete’s original birth certificate issued at the time of birth,” effectively barring transgender students from participating. Appeals court overturns West Virginia law banning transgender girls from sports teams – CBS News

MLB

• Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was released from federal custody on Friday on $25,000 bond and “numerous other conditions.” Mizuhara can’t leave the central district of California without permission, can’t contact Ohtani, and also has to participate in a gambler’s addiction program, per Blum. Ippei Mizuhara Released on $25K Bond; Allegedly Stole $16M from Shohei Ohtani – Bleacher Report
• A former Major League Baseball executive told a New York federal court he’s owed $5.9 million in retirement benefits based on the league’s erroneous calculation that excluded substantial bonuses he received during his decades-long tenure. In a 52-page complaint Thursday, Christopher Tully accused MLB, its pension committee, and its supplemental pension plan for office employees of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to pay him the full amount of benefits he was owed after he retired in December 2022. Ex-Exec Says MLB Underpaid Retirement Benefits By $5.9M – Law360

NFL

• NFL wide receiver Rashee Rice, a key contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl run last season, has been sued in Texas state court over a high-speed crash that left at least seven motorists injured on March 30. NFL Player Rashee Rice Faces $10 Million Suit Over Car Crash – Bloomberg

NCAA

• New Jersey State Sen. Kristin Corrado introduced a bill last week that would prohibit NCAA betting on student-athlete player props. The Garden State, via bill S3080, joins a host of other jurisdictions in trying to ban college player props. NCAA president Charlie Baker has called for a nationwide ban on the bets. NJ Could Join List Of States Banning Betting On NCAA Player Props – LSR
• The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The NAIA Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The NAIA, which oversees some 83,000 athletes competing in more than 25 sports, is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step. NAIA all but bans transgender athletes from women’s sports. NCAA vows to ensure ‘fair competition’ – The Associated Press
• Zach Edey has been college basketball’s best player for two straight seasons. Yet an NIL rule makes it so he can’t profit off his success in America. Because Edey is Canadian, he’s not legally allowed to make money through NIL deals that take place in the USA. He can, however, conduct NIL deals when he returns to Canada, like when Purdue played Alabama in Toronto on December 9. Zach Edey “Lost Out on a Lot of Money” by American Law – Heavy
• NCAA President Charlie Baker’s recent proposal that would, among other things, allow colleges to pay athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) was cited by plaintiffs’ lawyers on Wednesday night as one of the reasons that a federal judge should abolish the association’s remaining NIL rules without a trial in their lawsuit against the NCAA and the nation’s top college conferences. Court filing asks judge to rule that NCAA’s remaining NIL rules violate antitrust law – USA TODAY SPORTS
• A Quincy University tennis coach has been awarded $2.9 million at the close of a jury trial in Illinois federal court on his counterclaims that a former star recruit spread rumors that he had had sexual relations with a female student tennis player. According to Thursday’s verdict form, the jury awarded Brian Holzgrafe $1 million each for damage to his reputation and emotional distress, plus $40,000 for loss of wages and $874,000 in punitive damages on his counterclaims against Daniel R. Lozier II. Tennis Coach Awarded $2.9M For Defamation In Title IX Suit – Law360

Entertainment:

MUSIC

• The judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation created to handle claims stemming from the 2021 Astroworld music festival ruled that rapper Drake could escape the sprawling lawsuits stemming from the crowd crush that killed 10 and left hundreds injured. Judge dismisses lawsuits filed against rapper Drake over deadly Astroworld concert | AP News
• Meanwhile, Travis Scott’s attorneys told a Houston judge that the rapper’s failure to stop his Astroworld concert the night of a fatal crowd crush was inconsequential to the first victim’s case, as she was receiving medical care more than 20 minutes before he was ordered to stop performing. Scott, Live Nation aim to share blame for Astroworld deaths (houstonlanding.org)

FILM & TELEVISION

• A CA federal judge has thrown out a copyright suit against Paramount Pictures filed by the family of a writer behind the source material of the film Top Gun, finding that the entertainment giant did not infringe copyrighted material in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ lawsuit against Paramount rejected by US judge | Reuters
• An NM judge gave Rust film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed the maximum 18-month prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the low-budget Western starring actor-producer Alec Baldwin, who faces trial on the same charge this summer. “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sentenced to 18 months in prison over deadly 2021 shooting – CBS News
• A CA federal judge has dismissed, for now, a writer’s copyright infringement suit accusing cable channel Showtime and the makers of the show Penny Dreadful of ripping off her characters from posts she made in an online role-playing community forum called “Murders & Roses: Victorian London Crimes & Scandals.” Judge Sees Plot Holes In Case Against TV’s ‘Penny Dreadful’ – Law360

FASHION

• The 4^th Circuit decided that a VA federal judge correctly denied trade dress registration for Timberland’s Icon Boot, saying in a published opinion the lower court did not err in concluding the design elements the company wanted to register were ineligible because they had not acquired distinctive meaning in consumers’ minds. Timberland loses US court bid to trademark boot-design features | Reuters

MEANWHILE, IN HOLLYWOOD…

• Celebrity chef David Chang, the founder of restaurant brand Momofuku, found himself at the center of a controversy brewing over his trademark of “chile crunch” for a centuries-old East Asian spice blend. David Chang’s Momofuku draws heat over its ‘chile crunch’ trademark – The Washington Post He subsequently decided not to enforce the trademark after drawing negative attention. David Chang and Momofuku will no longer enforce ‘chili crunch’ trademark (nbcnews.com)
• A NY federal judge dismissed a photographer’s suit accusing Bella Hadid of copyright infringement over an image the supermodel republished onto her Instagram account four years ago after the photographer advised the court they’ve reached a settlement in principle with Hadid. Model Bella Hadid Settles Photog’s IP Suit Over Instagram Pic – Law360