The Fordham Sports Law Forum is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year—25 years. Since 1996, the group has brought together accomplished attorneys from different facets of the sports industry via a day-long symposium to have in-depth debates about contemporary issues surrounding sports law. This year’s symposium—sponsored by Herrick, Feinstein LLP—will be held in a hybrid format from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11. Registration for participants is still open.
“Looking back at the forum’s history and different sports law-related issues and headlines over the last 25 years, it’s an incredible opportunity to see how far we’ve come to lead this forum and be able to celebrate this milestone together on campus,” said Joseph Buonadonna ’22, the Forum’s editor-in-chief and symposium organizer. “The topics the student executive board and I have chosen for the symposium this year, with guidance from Adjunct Professor Marc Edelman, are all subjects you touch on in class, but might not necessarily be thinking about as paths to pursue in your professional career. I’m excited for Fordham Law students and students outside of the Law School to listen to our panelists, get a better idea of what these attorneys do in their daily lives, and be inspired to possibly follow in their footsteps.”
The Game Plan
The first panel will discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous 9-0 decision in NCAA v. Alston (2021), in which the Court ruled that the NCAA’s restrictions on “non-cash education-related benefits” for athletes violated federal antitrust law, and will feature two attorneys who litigated the landmark case on opposing sides. The second panel will segue into some of the most recent trends in the sports media landscape including changes to sports broadcasting and distribution. The third and final panel will explore sports betting—especially in New York State, which legalized online sports betting in January 2022. There will also be morning and afternoon fireside chats featuring Jessica Berman ’02, the recently named commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League; and AJ Vaynerchuk, co-founder of VaynerSports and former COO of VaynerMedia.
Symposium Line-Up
Welcome Remarks (9:30–9:40 a.m.)
- Joseph Landau, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Fordham University School of Law
- Ethan Bordman, Chief Executive Officer at Cygnet Media Capital, LLC; Chair of the New York State Bar Association Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section
Morning Fireside Chat (9:40–10:30 a.m.)
- Jessica Berman ’02, Incoming Commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League
Moderated by: Joseph Buonadonna ’22, Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham Sports Law Forum
Panel 1: The Big Business of College Athletics (10:40–11:30 a.m.)
- Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board
- Vincent Fuller II ’17, Associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Former NFL Player
- David Greenspan, Co-Chair, Sports Law Practices, Winston & Strawn LLP
- Hayley Hodson, Current UCLA Law Student; Former Student-Athlete
Moderated by: Marc Edelman, Professor of Law at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York
Panel 2: Recent Trends in the Sports Media Landscape (11:40 a.m.–12:30 p.m.)
- Wendy Bass ’02, Senior Vice President, Programming & Rights Management, NBC Sports
- Irwin Kishner, Partner; Executive Chairman; Co-Chair, Sports Law Group, Herrick, Feinstein LLP
- Andrew Lee ’97, Of Counsel; Special Advisor to the Sports & Entertainment Team, Foley & Lardner LLP
- Sunjay Matthews ’10, Senior Vice President; Head of Legal, DAZN Group
Moderated by: Mark Conrad, Director, Sports Business Concentration at the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University
Panel 3: Betting on the Future (1:30–2:20 p.m.)
- Joseph Addabbo Jr., Chairman of Committee on Racing, Gaming & Wagering, NYS Senate
- Marc Edelman, Professor of Law at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York
- Daniel Etna ’86, Partner; Co-Chair, Sports Law Group, Herrick, Feinstein LLP
- Carolyn Renzin, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, FanDuel group
Moderated by: Dan Lust ’13, Sports Law Professor at New York Law School
Afternoon Fireside Chat (2:30–3:20 p.m.)
- AJ Vaynerchuk, CEO & Co-founder of VaynerSports; Co-founder and Former COO of VaynerMedia
- Garrett White, Assistant to AJ Vaynerchuk; Former Student-Athlete
Moderated by: Mark Conrad, Director, Sports Business Concentration at the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University
Concluding Remarks (3:20–3:30 p.m.)
How to Attend
The Fordham Sports Law Forum’s 25th Annual Sports Law Symposium will be held in a hybrid format on Friday, March 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration is still open.
Fordham Law students, alumni, faculty, and staff can attend the event in person at Costantino Room.
All outside guests can register to attend the event virtually via this link. Upon registering, further Zoom information will be provided the evening of Thursday, March 10.
