1. Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Sport Public Relations
C H A P T E R 15
Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Sport Public Relations
Chapter 15

2. Objectives
Identify existing legal issues in sport public relations and their effects on teams, leagues, and organizations
Anticipate emerging legal issues, particularly in relation to the development of digital media content
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3. Objectives (continued)
Understand the importance of legal analysis in sport public relations
Evaluate ethical dilemmas present in sport public relations
Recognize the need for ethical decision making in sport public relations

4. Two Major Topics Law Ethics
Not all legally sound decisions are ethical.
Not all ethical decisions are necessarily legal.

5. Legal Dimensions: Social Media
A new and potentially perilous frontier
Facebook photos
Unfiltered tweets
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6. Legal Dimensions: Social Media (continued)
League or managerial responses
Rules limiting social media use
Software to monitor social media sites
Recommendations that athletes keep their content private

7. Legal Dimensions: FERPA
Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act
FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
Significant impact for scholastic and collegiate athletic administrators
Critics claim some administrators use FERPA as a shield

8. Legal Dimensions: HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HIPAA protects the privacy of an individual’s health information and governs the way certain health care providers collect, maintain, use, and disclose protected health information.
Affects reporting related to injuries
Application in sport has been uneven

9. Legal Dimensions: GINA
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
GINA protects individuals, including athletes, from a variety of genetics-related issues.
Prohibits sport organizations from mandating genetic tests for athletes
No prohibition of athletes securing tests on their own

10. Legal Dimensions: Governmental Protections
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information.
Federal law
Issue at the heart of NCAA v Associated Press et al.
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11. Legal Dimensions: Governmental Protections (continued)
Open meeting and records laws require that state and local government organizations make public their meetings and decision- making processes.

12. Legal Dimensions: SLAPP and Anti-SLAPP
SLAPP, strategic lawsuits against public participation, could be used by sport organizations to silence critics.
Anti-SLAPP statutes could allow critics to organize more effectively without fear of having to defend themselves in court.

13. Legal Issues: Intellectual Property
Copyright protection extends to original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed (17 U.S. Code & 1029 (a)).
Trademark law focuses on the protection of marks, words, names, symbols, designs, and combinations thereof.

14. Legal Issues: Right of Publicity
Right of publicity protects a person from having the commercial value of his or her identity appropriated by someone else without consent.

15. Legal Issues: Libel and Slander
Defamation law posits that to establish the tort of defamation a plaintiff needs to prove
a false and defamatory statement of fact;
published or communicated message to a third party;
fault, at least negligence, of the publisher or communicator; or
harm leading to damages.
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16. Legal Issues: Libel and Slander (continued)
Libel: written false defamation
Slander: spoken false defamation

17. Ethical Dimensions: Codes of Ethics
Codes of ethics act as guidelines for professional behavior among workers in the field
Example: CoSIDA Code of Ethics
Professionalism is an expectation in any setting

18. Ethical Issues
Fairness in coverage: balancing consumer demand for information about most popular sports with equity considerations
Difference in international settings
Cultural sensitivities (e.g., rivalry matches)
Customs and local traditions
Entitlements and freedoms