ESLJ Volume 2 Number 1 Book Reviews
Sports Law
Sport, Physical Activity and the Law
by Neil Dougherty, Alan Goldberger and Linda Jean Carpenter.
Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 2002.
Pp.260, $49.95 (pb),
ISBN 1 571 67492 6.
Reviewed by:
JOHN T. WOLOHAN
Ithaca College,
Ithaca, New York
To most non-lawyers, the thought of reading a legal text is enough to make their minds go numb and put them to sleep. This is because most legal textbooks are geared either to the practicing attorney or to the law student. Therefore, in order to understand the material in the book, the reader already has to have a sound understanding of the law and how the legal system works. Another problem with most legal textbooks is that some authors, in an effort to demonstrate to the reader how smart they are, use so much legal jargon that the reader is quickly lost. It was, therefore, really refreshing to read Sport, Physical Activity and the Law by Neil Dougherty, Alan Goldberger and Linda Jean Carpenter. The authors, three widely acknowledged legal experts in their fields, are able to present the material in a simple format that is well organized and easy to read.
One of the reasons Sport, Physical Activity and the Law is so easy to read is that the common organisational pattern of the chapters facilities study and review of the material. First, the text is divided into five distinct and separate areas: the legal system; constitutional guarantees; personal rights and expectations; programme management and contract; and legal responsibility for participant safety. The authors then divide the five areas into 16 chapters, ranging from an overview of the US legal system and risk management all the way to contract and constitutional issues. Each of the chapters begins by presenting a brief scenario to illustrate the nature of the chapter's main topic area. The authors follow each scenario by listing the objectives and key elements found in the chapter. In an effort to assist the reader, the authors also highlight each new concept and term as it is introduced.
Many chapters contain management sections that show sport administrators how to turn the legal concepts and requirements discussed into proactive tools that build better programmes. At the end of the each chapter is a summary of the key concepts followed by several case studies that demonstrate real-world applications of the legal concepts addressed. The case studies are presented in a simple and easy to understand narrative, rather than a more technical legal format, that makes it easy for the non-lawyer to follow and comprehend. The case studies are followed by a list of key terms and several questions to aid the reader in reviewing the key points of each chapter. Finally, in the reference section that follows each chapter, the authors include in many of them the citations for suggested additional readings for anyone who would like to research the particular area in more detail.
While enjoyable and certainly educational, the book also has some faults. For example, in most chapters the resource material used is rather dated. While all the material presented is legally sound and correct, because the law, especially in the areas of constitutional law and even risk management, has changed over the past few years the authors could have used more up-to-date references. Most of the resources used, even in the new chapters, are over ten years old. In addition, people in the United Kingdom or outside the United States should also know that the book deals almost exclusively with the US legal system and laws. The only reason I mention this fact, since neither the book nor the authors ever pretend to cover European law, is because Entertainment Law is published in the United Kingdom.
Overall, I would recommend Sport, Physical Activity and the Law to anyone interested in the legal issues surrounding sport and physical activity in the United States. The book is well written and provides some very helpful information. In addition, the book should prove very useful to any athletic administrators interested in developing a safe and legally sound sport and physical activity programme. If however you are more interested in the legal issues of sport outside the United States, there are a number of other sport law books available that would prove much more useful.
This is a book review published online on March 7th 2005.
Citation: Wolohan, John T, 'Sport, Physical Activity and the Law by Neil Dougherty, Alan Goldberger and Linda Jean Carpenter.', Entertainment and Sports Law Journal (ESLJ) Volume 2, Number 1 <http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/eslj/issues/volume2/number1/reviews/wolohan/>.
