The state’s top sports-law stories for 2007

david.frank@exhibitAnews.com

Last year wasn’t big just for the Pats, Sox and Celts. It was also notable for those involved in various local legal-sports stories.

In the spirit of year-in-review countdowns, here’s my list of the Top 5 sports-law stories in Massachusetts for 2007.

1. Ticket-Scalping Lawsuit

Last October, District Court Judge Mark S. Coven ordered Admit One Ticket Agency to spill the beans on how it acquires tickets and sets prices.

In what may be the only decision handed down by a judge to mention the Green Monster, Yaz and Tony C, many predicted Coven’s ruling would put licensed ticket agents out of business.

The judge found that the Weymouth company violated the state’s anti-scalping statute when it offered to sell an $85 Red Sox ticket for $500.

The law, written two years into President Coolidge’s administration, forbids ticket resellers, with some exceptions, from charging more than $2 above face value.

Well, it’s only been a few months, but Coven’s decision has yet to shut down any of the state’s 125 licensed agents. Tickets to the Super Bowl in Arizona, for instance, are going for $6,000 a pop. You don’t need to be a math major to know that that’s a lot more than two bucks over face value.

Adding insult to injury is that the man at the center of the lawsuit, which drew the attention of resellers across the country, isn’t even a lawyer. He’s a pro-se litigant and self-described consumer-rights advocate.

2. The George Mitchell Report

The former Senate Majority leader — now an attorney at a national law firm — was called on by baseball higher-ups to conduct an independent investigation into alleged steroid use in the sport.

While George Mitchell unearthed some big names, most notably former Sox ace Roger Clemens, the problem with the report is that it is hardly independent.

Mitchell is apparently tight with the league’s commissioner. More problematic is the fact that he is a partial owner of the Red Sox whose name appears on the team’s letterhead.

How can an owner with financial interests in a baseball team be asked to make objective assessments of the steroid problem? And what should be made of the fact that Mitchell’s report contained a near roster-full of Yankees but did not include a single significant member of the World Series champs?

Even if Mitchell took the ethically appropriate path in his investigation, which he likely did, it’s the appearance of a conflict that is troubling here. While Mitchell’s report was thorough and well written, at the end of the day he shouldn’t have involved himself in this endeavor.

3. NHL’s new head honcho

This has to be the feel-good local sports-law story of 2007.

After considering nearly 300 candidates, the National Hockey League Players Association, out of nowhere, tapped talented Boston lawyer Paul V. Kelly to take over as executive director.

Anyone familiar with the NHL’s problems knows that Kelly — who once prosecuted his now-predecessor Alan Eagleson on fraud charges — has plenty on his plate.

But, so far, so good. Here’s wishing him the best.

4. WEEI’s On-Air Apology

Last June, four months after accusing two judges and an Essex County prosecutor of trying to fix a criminal sentence by having inappropriate contact with the presiding judge, WEEI hosts John Dennis and Gerry Callahan were forced to issue a rare on-air mea culpa.

Thanks to the efforts of Boston attorney Howard Cooper, Dennis and Callahan admitted they were wrong, apologizing to listeners during their popular morning-drive show. 

5. Boston College Land Purchase

BC forked over more than $170 million to the Archdiocese of Boston to purchase property up for sale. The proceeds reportedly were used to help pay for legal settlements to victims of clergy abuse.

The school announced in December it planned to use some of the land to build four sports fields, an athletic center and a new baseball stadium.

Yes, BC sports can be easy to hate, but the school does compete athletically at a national level without completely forsaking its academic standards.