Business and Legal Aspects of Sports and Entertainment

Topics

The backbone of BLASE is the topical arrangement created by the editors after analyzing thousands of scholarly articles. A topic has been assigned to every title in BLASE, further organizing the content within each tab. You can access topics within a tab by clicking Topic under the browse by options displayed at the top of the page. In this example, let's navigate to the Topic view under the Books tab.

Examples of some of the topics within BLASE include:

• Antitrust
• Blacklist
• Broadcasting
• Copyright
• Drugs and Doping
• Gambling
• Law and Lawyers in Film
• Olympics
• Sexual Harassment and Violence
• Television

In parenthesis after each is the number of titles currently in BLASE which are assigned to that topic.

Scope Notes

We already discussed the topical arrangement that has been applied to BLASE, and how this methodology was borne out of the editors' analysis of scholarly articles. To help illuminate the editors' approach when assigning material to topics and to define the reach and coverage of a particular topic, each topic listed under Scholarly Sports Articles and Scholarly Entertainment Articles is given a scope note. The scope note explains the focus of a given topic and, by extension, areas that a topic does not cover. For example, let's take a look at Horse Racing. Under Scholarly Sports Articles, click the question mark in front of Horse Racing to display this topic's scope note.

We can see from the scope note that we won't find articles covering recreational equine activity under Horse Racing and therefore know to look elsewhere for those types of articles. We can also see Related Topics listed under the scope note when applicable, and it is under the Related Topic that any material excluded from the topic under discussion will be found. In the case of Horse Racing, we can find articles on recreational equine activity under Recreational Sports and Injuries. Scope notes help guide users through topics and direct their research through the 12,000 articles BLASE has to offer.

While scope notes are not always provided next to the topics listed in the remaining tabs, this same approach (with slight modifications) is also used for the material and topics in the rest of the database.

Scholarly Articles

Let's explore some of the 12,000 articles within BLASE by returning to the Horse Racing topic. Click on Horse Racing under Scholarly Sports Articles to be brought to a curated list of articles on amateur and professional horse racing. By default, articles are arranged by most-cited, but use the facets at the top of the page to sort by Article Title, Author, Year (Newest First), or Year (Oldest First). Still at the top of the page, search the results by title or author. Using the options on the right-hand side of the page, check out each article's credentials with the provided ScholarCheck stats, email or download, or hit the blue ribbon to save to your MyHein account. MyHein is HeinOnline's personal research tool that allows users to bookmark and organize articles, save search queries, set up eTOC alerts, and more. Learn more about what MyHein has to offer here.

Please note that users must be subscribed to the appropriate HeinOnline collection(s) to view the articles linked under the scholarly articles tabs.

Periodicals

Feeling enterprising and want to search for your own articles, or looking for entire publications dedicated to these topics? Head over to the Periodicals tab for an A-Z listing of scholarly journals and law reviews dedicated to the legal aspects of sports and entertainment. Content within this tab is not segregated by sports or entertainment as many of these titles address both subjects.

Searching Cases by Topic

Now that we're familiar with scope notes and how they function for scholarly articles, let's explore how scope notes can help us find case law regarding a specific topic. There are two case law tabs within BLASE, one for sports and one for entertainment. Navigating to the Important Entertainment Cases tab, users will see a list of curated cases listed alphabetically by topic.

Here you will again notice question mark icons displayed next to most topics. Click the question mark to display the associated scope note for each topic. Click the icon again to collapse the scope note.

Not familiar with a particular case and wishing you had a "back of the DVD box" summary before committing to a click? There's no need to head over to Google because summaries are provided for cases! Click the case name to display its summary.

To view a case, click the case citation to be taken to the full text courtesy of Fastcase.

Do you notice the Related Topics displayed on the right-hand side of the page? Topics are cross-referenced to help direct users to related cases that have been assigned different but relevant topics by the editors. For example, still under the Copyright and Music topic, click a related topic, Parody, to be taken to these topic-assigned cases.

BLASE also offers two tabs dedicated to the publications from the following organizations.

Athlete Agents Act (NCCUSL)

During the last two decades of the twentieth century, concerns about the increase in compensation for professional athletes prompted a majority of states to adopt laws governing agents' behavior. Agents and their associates were providing inducements to secure a representation agreement that often compromised eligibility under intercollegiate athletic association rules. The statutes enacted by states varied considerably, particularly as to registration requirements, prompting the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and some universities to request that NCCUSL/ULC create a uniform act to address inconsistencies.

The National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), also known as the Uniform Law Commission, was established in 1892 to draft and promote the passage of model legislation where uniformity among states is desirable. Commissioners, who must be members of a state bar, meet annually to discuss areas of the law where uniform acts are advantageous and to consider proposed uniform laws advanced by drafting committees.

A drafting committee met for more than three years to address statutory concerns regarding agents and athletes, eventually developing model legislation covering registration requirements, disclosures, specific contractual terms, notification to academic institutions of a contractual agreement, cancellation rights, and civil remedies.

View meeting materials, drafts, meeting agendas, memorandum, final acts and more from the committee related to the Uniform Athlete Agents Act under this tab dedicated to the topic.

National Sports Law Institute

Ten titles from the Institute are included in this tab. Founded in 1989, the National Sports Law Institute (NSLI) is affiliated with Marquette’s Sports Law program. Its mission is to be the leading national educational and research institute for the study of legal, ethical, and business issues affecting amateur and professional sports from both an academic and practical perspective. It provides educational opportunities for law students as well as current and future leaders in the sports industry. NSLI provides a national forum for discussion and consideration of American and international sports issues and encourages input by persons and organizations with a wide range of viewpoints. It seeks to promote a legal environment in which sports at all levels of competition will flourish. Conference proceedings, books, and periodicals are included from the Institute in BLASE.

Expand the Strike Zone

In addition to the resources offered within HeinOnline, BLASE also offers researchers external links and an extensive bibliography to help take your research off the field. Curated lists of external links are provided for both sports and entertainment, organized by category to help direct users. Click the External Sports Links tab or External Entertainment Links tab to browse these resources.

Check the Gate

Before you move on to film your next shot, check out BLASE's Bibliography tab for a selective list of books we think you'll find useful but which, due to copyright restrictions, we couldn't digitize and host in HeinOnline. Links to WorldCat (when available) will help you track down a title at your local library to continue your research. Titles are listed alphabetically by default, but change the facets at the top of the page to browse by Author or Topic.

Finally, be sure to view the Reference Sources tab for a list of materials used by the editors as they compiled and researched the materials for BLASE.