Jocks Are People Too: The Constitution Comes to the Locker Room
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Authors
Carrafiello, Vincent A.
Issue Date
1980
Volume
13
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Perhaps nowhere as much as in the United States has athletics been considered so natural a part of university life. The quiet gentleman-scholar may take his tranquil stroll some autumnal Saturday afternoon to his research project in the library. But on most major campuses his steps will be sure to cross those of loyal fans returning to cheer on their well-exercised champions. Some criticize this situation as an offensively alien intrusion upon the cerebral pursuits of higher education. Others welcome its presence as a morale builder and-in these days of budgetary exigencies-an income producer. With the ever increasing importance of collegiate athletics, however, the courts have come more and more to play a crucial role in the disposition and adjudication of controversies that not too long ago would have been settled by some quickly uttered grunt or some earthy sounding epithet. Athletes themselves, the schools and coaches for whom they play, and the national and regional associations which administer their competitive activities have all been into court on issues as varied as recruiting and eligibility, rights of resident aliens, and what constitutes state action. This article attempts to highlight some of the issues raised in this litigation. It cannot purport to be a definitive treatment because so much of the field is still law in the making. Yet it will underscore those areas that have been productive of legal controversy and the manner in which a settlement of the issues has been attempted. This brief survey will at least confirm the suspicion that athletic directors of major schools may be as much in need of expert legal counsel as any high-powered executive in a major business corporation...
Description
Citation
13 Creighton L. Rev. 843 (1979-1980)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law