OLYMPIC AND PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) may be utilized to resolve a variety of sports-related disputes. The American Arbitration Association each year administers hundreds of sports franchise, joint-venture, and partnership disputes. Some of these involve professional sports, such as disputes over partnership proceeds, termination of sports executives, the sale of a franchise, and payments under executive or partnership agreements. The AAA's commercial rules are used to govern resolution of these types of disputes.

Separately, the AAA is named in the U.S. Olympic Committee Bylaws to administer several types of amateur sports disputes. There are three major classes of disputes involving Olympics sport in the United States that are resolved through AAA arbitration: (1) eligibility of an athlete to participate in the Olympics Pan-American Games, or other international competition (2) determination of the appropriate National Governing Body (NGB) for a particular amateur sport, and (3) adverse findings of drug use. While the Commercial Rules and Mediation Procedures are utilized to resolve the first two types of disputes, supplementary procedures exist for addressing anti-doping dispute resolution.

• Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures
• American Arbitration Association Supplementary Procedures for the Arbitration of Anti-Doping Rule Violations
• Olympic and Professional Sports Guides and Whitepapers

Additional Olympic and Anti-Doping Links:

• International Olympic Committee (IOC)
• United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
• World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
• World-Anti Doping Code (WADC)
• United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)