Dispute Resolution in Sports Practice

In sports organization, the presence of an effective dispute resolution procedure is imperative for the operation of such entities. It is evident that many complain arise after the concerned institutions have made a decision. Thus, there is the need for the establishment of independent judicial dispute resolution agencies to handle such cases. In professional sports, there are fundamental components that ensure athletes are better equipped. These include contracts, agents, and league policies.

According to Gardiner (2006), Justice is an essential tool in ensuring the success of a dispute resolution process. It is evident that most of these processes are successful only when one trusts the degree of fairness in institutions offering them. As a result, it is imperative to slot in rudiments of procedural justice, in any conflict resolution process. Analysis carried out recently proves that disputes happen in two ways.

The first one is corporate disputes while the other one is the local level disputes. It is noteworthy that corporate disputes entails problems related to policy elucidation and conformity. Whereby, they might involve a club and the association that operates the league or competition. For example, in football, a team in the U.K and U.S might fail to comply with the transfer market rules. Thus, the respective football associations might take a step and present a case against the team to FIFA, which is the governing body of the sport. On the other hand, local level disputes entail personal problems between an individual player and his team or agent.

Thus, the players will view the dispute resolution procedure in terms of its fairness. It is evident that there is a disparity in the elementary nature of disagreements at all rank within the sport pecking order. As a result, formulation of an appropriate dispute resolution process is necessary. According to research carried out recently by different law firms, it is apparent that despite the fairness exhibited by dispute resolution processes in clubs and associations, complaints always arise.

Shropshire & Davis (2008) divulges that, in professional sports, agents have the responsibility of marketing the athlete they represent. This includes communicating with the relevant organizations and teams that are interested in the services of that athlete. In other circumstances, these agents negotiate contracts and other deals on behalf of this athlete. In large sports organizations, agents handle the athlete’s public relations together with their finances. This includes their salary, investments, and tax remuneration. It is evident that, agents advise their clients on which career path to pursue. Most importantly, they manage the career and life of the athletes.

In all professional sports leagues, there are policies enacted, which the players, teams and other stakeholder obey. These are essential as they facilitate the overall management of teams. This is to ensure the team administration or owners’ handle players and officials with dignity. For example, in most sports leagues, there are policies that prohibit the mismanagement of team funds. Moreover, there are those that directs for issuance of adequate salary to the team officials and players.

An additional role of the policies is to maintain discipline among players. Thus, there are policies that promote fair play in the field or track. At the same time, there are policies that prohibit the use of enhancement drugs by the athletes. In most leagues, there are rules that govern the process of player transfer from one team to the other (Santo & Mildner, 2010).

Wong (2009) insists that a contract in professional sports is a promise which one party makes when seeking the services of an athlete. A contract ensures fulfillment of the promises made by either side, as failure to do so leads to legal action as stated in the contract. Most importantly, a contract is a commitment to agreements. This document also acts as a reference incase of disputes resulting from the agreements.

It is evident that the establishment of an independent dispute resolution agency is the only way to reduce complaints arising after settling of weighty issues in sports. It is a fact that an athlete or team will trust a procedural dispute resolution process only if it has proved to be efficient. In professional sports, athletes need contracts, policies, and agents to indulge efficiently in sporting activities.

References

Gardiner, S. (2006). Sports law. London: Routledge.

Santo, C & Mildner, G. (2010). Sport and Public Policy EBook: Social, Political, and Economic Perspectives. Illinois, IL: Human Kinetics.

Shropshire, K & Davis, T. (2008). The business of sports agents. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Wong, G. (2009). Essentials of Sports Law. California, CA: ABC-CLIO.