Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Ron Katz was mentioned in the New York Times in an article by Bill Rhoden about the recent federal district judge decision concerning Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
In the article, Rhoden (who will speak at the 2015 Sports Law Symposium this upcoming Thursday) highlights the distinction between resolution of legal issues, which the federal judge did, and the lingering ethical issues as to whether or not Brady and the Patriots cheated in a sports:
Regardless of how Berman ruled, it was already clear that the discipline process had to change. There had to be a major overhaul in the administration of fines, punishments and discipline, and the power surely needed to be taken out of Goodell’s hands. Thursday’s ruling must be the catalyst for change.
“The takeaway,” the lawyer Ron Katz said, “is that the concept of the commissioner-as-an-employee should be replaced by the previous concept of a distinguished person as the commissioner.” Katz mentioned a figure like the former Yale president, A. Bartlett Giamatti, who as baseball commissioner had the gravitas necessary to ban Pete Rose for life.
I have discussed the Brady case throughout the year with Katz, the chairman emeritus of the Institute of Sports Law and Ethics at Santa Clara University. The Brady case poses ethical issues that go beyond the weight of a football, into the lengths we as a society will go to win.
This article is an excellent showcase for the Institute’s focus on sport, its legal issues and its ethical and moral issues.
The full article is available at the New York Times website.
