The Rise of White Collar Sports Cheating Scandals

Irwin Kishner, co-chair of Herrick's Sports Law Group and co-chair of Herrick's Corporate Department, was quoted in Law360 in an article discussing scandals involving professional sports teams that resemble white collar crime. The article notes sports subterfuge has recently been cast in a different light, "one less concerned with knowing the opponents' plays and more concerned with using financial trickery to gain a spending advantage over the competition."  

The article also notes that while leagues and teams are attuned to this kind of misconduct, "pursuing a more white collar-type of infraction presents a unique challenge." 

Irwin underlined the challenges facing the leagues' watchdog arms.

"They're both done in very sophisticated manners, and I think they're all accounting for the science and the technical rules and regulations, but I do think that, as the schemes become more sophisticated, the methods of catching these people also become more complicated," Irwin said.

Read the full article in Law360 here. Access may require a subscription.