K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (February 18, 2025)

Sports:

NCAA

• Kansas State baseball player Cary Arbolida became the latest former JUCO athlete to file a lawsuit against the NCAA. He played three years of JUCO ball – including the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign – before spending the last two seasons at Houston. Kansas State baseball player Cary Arbolida files eligibility lawsuit against NCAA – On3
• A Tennessee federal judge has rejected an early request from a college baseball player to override NCAA eligibility rules so he can play for the University of Tennessee before the season starts on Friday. Baseball Player Denied Early Waiver From NCAA Rules – Law360
• The National Collegiate Athletic Association‘s board of governors voted to update the association’s participation policy for student-athletes following President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. NCAA changes transgender participation policy in response to executive order – ABC

NFL

• The Cleveland Browns‘ lawsuit against the city of Cleveland seeking to have the so-called “Art Modell Law” overturned should remain in federal court, the team declared Friday in response to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s previous calls to have the case dismissed. Cleveland Browns continue push for ‘Modell Law’ to be ruled unconstitutional by federal judge – WTOL 11
• As New Orleans church leaders braced for the fallout from publishing a list of predatory Catholic priests, they turned to an unlikely ally: the front office of the city’s NFL franchise. NFL emails reveal extent of Saints’ damage control for clergy sex abuse crisis – AP

MLB

• A former Los Angeles Angels press officer asked a Texas federal judge to undo the 22-year prison sentence he’s currently serving after being convicted of giving pitcher Tyler Skaggs fentanyl-laced pills that caused his fatal overdose in 2019. Ex-Angels Staffer Says Attys Botched Skaggs Overdose Case – Law360

NHL

• The National Hockey League has asked a Washington federal court to toss an antitrust lawsuit challenging a rule that dictates where junior athletes can play, arguing that most enforcement of the rule took place in Canada. NHL, CHL Ask Court to Toss Junior Players’ Antitrust Lawsuit – Law 360

Entertainment:

LAWSUITS OF THE RICH & FAMOUS

• An anonymous woman dropped her NY federal court lawsuit accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of raping a teenager together, claims that launched a bitter ethics feud between personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee and Jay-Z’s lawyers. Woman drops lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jay-Z : NPR
• A FL federal judge has largely kept alive Megan Thee Stallion’s lawsuit accusing a social media personality of acting as a paid surrogate of her convicted shooter, fellow rapper Tory Lanez, to spread lies about the trial and for promoting an AI-generated pornographic video that appears to depict her. Megan Thee Stallion Wins Ruling In Lawsuit Against YouTuber Gramz
• The 2^nd Circuit upheld R&B singer Kelly‘s convictions for racketeering and sex trafficking, citing the strength of the evidence and rejecting his claims that four jurors were biased against him. Federal appeals court upholds singer R. Kelly’s convictions and 30-year prison term | CNN
• A CA judge ordered Ye to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit from a former security guard at the embattled rapper’s Donda Academy and sanctioned him $500 for skipping a deposition, while also scolding Ye’s counsel about the attorney’s apparently difficult “history” before his court. Ye Sanctioned, Ordered To Sit For Depo In Fired Guard’s Suit – Law360 Meanwhile, a former marketing specialist for Ye has sued the rapper in CA state court, accusing West of being a “bully” who openly called himself Hitler and threatened her while using profanities on account of her being Jewish. Kanye West called himself ‘Hitler’ to ex-employee, lawsuit alleges – Los Angeles Times
• NBCUniversal Media, its streaming service Peacock TV and production company Ample Entertainment put profits over journalistic standards when they raced to broadcast “the most salacious Diddy exposé” containing “fresh lies and conspiracy theories,” the embattled music mogul alleges in a $100 million defamation lawsuit filed in NY state court. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sues NBC over documentary | Fortune Meanwhile, prosecutors did not intentionally invade Diddy’s attorney-client privilege when they received photographs of his handwritten notes that were taken during a security sweep of the prison, a Manhattan federal judge ruled, rejecting the music mogul’s request for relief in his sex-trafficking case. Feds Cleared Of Intentional Intrusion Over Diddy’s Jail Notes – Law360
• A federal judge has sanctioned a FL lawyer for “objectively frivolous” civil conspiracy claims brought against rapper DaBaby following an alleged altercation that happened before a scheduled performance, saying that his conduct “causes the court to question whether [he] should be appearing before any court in our district or state.” DaBaby Gets Fla. Atty Sanctioned For ‘Frivolous’ Claims – Law360

MUSIC

• A TN federal judge denied class certification in a breach of contract lawsuit by two members of the 1970s pop-rock band Orleans, John Hall and Lance Hoppen, who accused Warner Music Group and subsidiary Elektra Entertainment of underpaying foreign digital streaming royalties. Judge Refuses To Certify ’70s Rockers’ Royalty Class Action – Law360

FILM & TELEVISION

• The former co-president of Marvel Entertainment has filed a discrimination lawsuit in CA state court alleging he was passed over for a promotion to lead the consumer products division of parent company Disney because he is an “old white guy.” Former Marvel Exec Sues Disney For ‘Old White Guy’ Bias – Law360