Opinion ID: 20891
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: amateur sports act

Text: 28 Congress passed the Amateur Sports Act (ASA), 36 U.S.C. 220501 et seq., in 1978, creating a vertical structure for the management of certain amateur sports in the United States. 10 See 36 U.S.C. 220503; H.R. Rep. At the head of this vertical structure is the U.S. Olympic Committee, which Congress intended as a coordinating body for amateur sports that Americans compete in internationally. See H.R. Rep.. At the next level are National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for each sport included in the Olympic Games or the Pan-American Games. See 36 U.S.C. 220521. 29 The NGBs are crucial to carrying out the ASA's purpose. In order to be recognized as a NGB, a sports organization must demonstrate autonomy in the governance of its sport - it must independently decide[] and control[] all matters central to governance; not delegate decision-making and control of matters central to governance; and be free from outside restraint. See 36 U.S.C. 220522(a)(5). Once established, a NGB has broad authority. In addition to other powers, it may establish national goals for the sport, act as the coordinating body for amateurathletic activity in the United States, conduct amateur athletic competition and establish procedures for determining eligibility standards. See 36 U.S.C. 220523. In addition, it is responsible for tasks like developing interest and participation in the sport, minimizing scheduling conflicts through coordination, and disseminating information. See 36 U.S.C. 220524. 30 Appellants argue that the ASA exempts from the federal antitrust laws their actions in promulgating and threatening enforcement of the unsanctioned play rule. They base their argument on Behagen v. Amateur Basketball Ass'n of the United States, 884 F.2d 524, 529-30 (10th Cir. 1989). In that case, the Tenth Circuit held that, in passing the ASA, Congress intended for NGBs to exercise monolithic control over a particular sport, and NGBs could exercise such control without fear of violating the federal antitrust laws. Id. 31 To be sure, Congress did not expressly exempt action taken under the ASA's direction from the federal antitrust laws. See Behagen, 884 F.2d at 529. An ASA exemption must be implied, and implied exemptions are not favored. See Silver v. New York Stock Exchange, 373 U.S. 341, 357, 83 S.Ct. 1246, 1257 (1963). A court should only find an implied antitrust exemption where it is necessary to the operation of another statutory scheme, and then only to the minimum extent necessary. See id. 32 Despite the narrow range of implied exemptions, Behagen extrapolated from the ASA's purpose and structure that Congress intended that action taken under its direction be exempt from the federal antitrust laws. See Behagen, 884 F.2d at 529. Like PBSC here, Behagen complained of an alleged group boycott. See Behagen, 884 F.2d at 527. He alleged that the amateur eligibility rules of the international basketball association, Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA), and the U.S. NGB for basketball, the Amateur Basketball Association of the United States (ABA/USA), effected an illegal group boycott of players like him who had played American professional basketball more than once. See Behagen, 884 F.2d at 525-26. The Tenth Circuit rejected his claim after concluding that the ABA/USA, as the NGB for basketball, could promulgate amateur eligibility rules exempt from the application of the federal antitrust laws. See Behagen, 884 F.2d at 528. 33 This Court believes Behagen was correctly decided; but it does not cover the case at bar. Behagen sued the NGB itself for its action taken pursuant to its rule about player eligibility. In this case, however, USSF 11 neither issued the NTSSA unsanctioned play rule nor explicitly approved it. In fact, NTSSA is USSF's only national state association to have such a rule, which suggests that the rule is not necessary to the local management of amateur soccer. Appellants argue that USSF's rule requiring that USSF review the original and any amendments of the charter, bylaws, rules and regulations of a national state association mean that USSF has effectively endorsed the unsanctioned play rule. See USSF Official Administrative Rule Book, R. 2011 2 (1996-1997). This Court is not persuaded; the supposed approval is simply too tenuous. 34 Although the facts of this case do not support an implied exemption from the antitrust laws, an implied exemption would be appropriate in many other situations. For example, if national state associations all over the country had a similar rule, one could infer that the rule was necessary to the management of the sport. If NTSSA's insurers had required that it have such a rule, then its existence would be necessary to the continued successful operation of amateur soccer in the area. If USSF had promulgated the rule or expressly approved NTSSA's rule in such a way as to indicate an awareness of its consequences,it would be a player eligibility rule exempted under Behagen. Or if NTSSA faced a spate of facilities that refused to become sanctioned facilities, NTSSA could face a freeriding problem that would threaten its effectiveness as a national state association. Any of these circumstances, and no doubt others not described here, would merit an implied exemption. 35 None of these situations present themselves, however. Rather, NTSSA promulgated a rule that could be found nowhere else in the country, that was not explicitly approved by the USSF, and for which it was unable to articulate a convincing rationale related to its management of amateur soccer in the area. Given these factors, the ASA does not exempt the NTSSA from antitrust scrutiny related to the unsanctioned play rule. 12