Sports law in 2025 – Key issues to watch in North America

Here are the top sports law issues to watch out for in 2025 in North America from the LawInSport Editorial & Advisory Board.  We hope this proves useful not only in identifying specific cases and issues, but also in detecting broader themes when read in conjunction with the contributions from other jurisdictions.

Contributors:

• Paul Greene, Attorney & Founder, Global Sports Advocates, Portland
  • The 2027 World Anti-Doping Code review process
• Mark Conrad, Professor of Law and Ethics and Director of the Sports Business Initiative, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York
  • A new administration takes power
• Professor Joshua A. Gordon, JD, MA, University of Oregon, Founder Sports Conflict Institute
  • The rise of athlete-centric dispute resolution
  • Key developments in dispute resolution
  • The next ADR challenge
  • Broader implications for athlete-centric governance
• Jodi S Balsam, Professor Of Clinical Law, Brooklyn Law School
  • President Trump’s Administration and sports
  • The incredible shrinking NCAA
  • Test of Ohio state law inhibiting franchise relocation
• Jeremi Duru, Professor Of Law, Washington College Of Law American University
  • The Relevent Sports lawsuit against FIFA and United States Soccer Federation
• Maureen Weston - Professor Of Law, Pepperdine Caruso School Of Law, Malibu
  • College sports on the brink of all out professionalization
• Thomas A. Baker, Professor, University of Georgia
  • Potential changes to the regulation of transgender athletes
  • National Labor Relations Board v University of Southern California, Pac 12 Conference, and NCAA
  • Slusser et al. v. The Mountain West Conference
• Lindsay Brandon, Director of Safeguarding, Women’s Tennis Association
  • The continued growth and success of women’s sports
• Nan Sato, Partner & Co-Chair, International Practice Group, Fisher & Phillips LLP, Philadelphia (assisted by Associate, Francis Wilson)
  • Lions and tigers and student-athlete employees, Oh My!
• Christopher Chase, Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, New York
  • Restrictions on marketing for sports betting platforms?

We would like to thank each member of our Editorial and Advisory Board for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share their views with us, and also more broadly for their significant input into LawInSport over the course of the year. Thank you.