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28 J. Legal Aspects Sport 118 (2018)
Guest Editors' Introduction to JLAS Special Issue on Athlete Activism and Sports Social Responsibility

handle is hein.journals/jlas28 and id is 118 raw text is: Journal ofLegalAspects ofSport, 2018,28,118-120 https://doi.org/I0.18060/22564 C Arthur R. Miller, Jodie S. Balsam Guest Editors' Introduction to JLAS Special Issue on Athlete Activism and Sports Social Responsibility Arthur R. Miller and Jodi S. Balsam* When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem prior to National Football League (NFL) games during the 2016 season, he quickly became a symbol of a renewed era of athlete activism, triggering collegiate and professional athlete activists across the country to join demonstrations and sparking national conversations about racism and police brutality. But athlete activism is much broader, extending to philanthropic work such as NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall's efforts to spread mental health awareness and National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James's funding of college scholarships for inner-city youth. Professional athletes' willingness to take public stands on political and social issues is reflected and reinforced by sports entities' social responsibility initiatives. For example, the NCAA relocated men's basketball championship games out of North Carolina in response to a state law that curbed anti-discrimination protections for transgender people. Most sports leagues and governing bodies regularly participate in socially responsible causes. In short, the sports industry has adapted the tenets of corporate social respon- sibility to fit its uniquely visible profile and serve its communities. Consequently, a constant stream of information canbe found in news reports that showcase league, team, and player efforts to make sports healthier and safer at all levels, improve literacy, create and fill jobs, address gender and racial inequalities, fight disease and poverty, prevent substance abuse, address domestic violence, and clean up the environment. However, in staking out positions on political, social, and health questions, sports industry participants face legal ramifications and risk. This special issue of the Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport examines both public and private law issues that arise whenever individuals and organizations among the complex network of relationships that define the sports industry try to make socially responsible choices or engage in social or political activism. We come to this topic as scholars and teachers of sports law, but also as observers of sports as a reflection of the most fundamental norms and values that shape * Arthur R. Miller, LLB, is a University Professor at the New York University (NYU) School of Law and director of the NYU Sports and Society program; email: arthur r.millerdnvu.edu. Jodi S. Balsam, JD, is an associate professor of clinical law and director of Externship Programs at the Brooklyn Law School, and an adjunct professor of law at the NYU School of Law; email: iodi.balsam2brooklaw.edu 4)-

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