ADR in Youth and Intercollegiate Athletics

Gil Fried & Michael Hiller I. INTRODUCTION In 1967, when several black athletes at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) felt that the UTEP athletic department did not make any extra effort to accommodate black athletes, they decided to take matters into their own hands.l Early in the 1967 football season, black football players staged a sit-in at the athletic dorm, engaging in what was possibly the first major college football boycott.2 The athletes' demands included: being allowed to date whomever they wanted, increasing the number of black females in the student body, providing the black athletes' wives with the same job opportunities as the white players' wives, and discontinuing the coach's poor treatment of black athletes, which included derogatory racial jokes.3 At the football coach's request, the athletes agreed not to discuss the matter with the media.4 However, the sit-in did not change either university policy or the coach's behavior. As one athlete stated, "not a single thing happened."5 UTEP's problems were not limited to the football team. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, black members of the track team approached their coach and expressed their desire not to compete against Brigham Young University (BYU) in an upcoming meet.6 When the coach disregarded the athletes' complaint, the athletes boycotted the meet. The athletes were kicked off the team and their scholarships were revoked.7 Not only did UTEP lose all hope of winning a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship and the respect of black athletes, but UTEP also faced a major publicity problem when Bob Beamon, an expelled athlete, set a world record several months later at the Mexico City Olympic Games.8 The publicity surrounding the events at UTEP triggered a chain reaction throughout intercollegiate sports.9 Within a year, black athletes on thirty-five college campuses stunned coaches and administrators with sweeping demands for change. 10 Racial conflicts represent just one of many student-athlete concerns. While racial conflicts in athletics have subsided since the tumultuous 1960s, other disputes can still develop into explosive conflicts affecting more than just the participants on the athletic field.11 Nonracially motivated problems have brought several athletic programs to their knees. he wave of the future . . . [seems to be] an increased militancy and willingness among athletes to speak out and act on the abuse of amateurism, even to the point of taking their coaches and schools to court."12 For example, in February 1989, the football team at Prairie View A & M University (Texas) went on strike demanding that the administration fire the head coach because they felt he was neglecting their education.ls The students pursued their grievances through the university's chain of command, but no action was taken."4 When the strike lasted more than a month, university officials began to fear that the strike had tarnished the university's image.ls Similar occurrences are cropping up on a regular basis as athletes fight for their rights, or attempt to advance their own agendas in youth and intercollegiate athletics. 16 While time might heal many wounds, there is no guarantee it will ever restore an organization's revenue or good reputation. To help resolve potential conflicts, a university"? could establish various provisions that require using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques to resolve athletic conflicts. For example, using ADR techniques would potentially minimize the risk of player boycotts. Contracts are a necessary ingredient to move all parties toward alternative dispute resolution. Contractual provisions in intercollegiate sports include intercollegiate letters of intent and athletic scholarships.la Additionally, student codes of conduct (codes or codes of conduct) represent the creation of a contractual relationship between the university and its students. …