Team Jim Thorpe presents "Pay for Play, Name Image and Likeness/Title IX"

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022, the Leo A. Deegan Inn of Court (“Deegan Inn”) held its monthly meeting. Due to the rising numbers of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Board of Directors for the Deegan Inn decided to hold the meeting virtually, via Zoom, and all Inn members were provided the details to log-in.

Team Jim Thorpe presented their MCLE on “Pay for Play, Name Image and Likeness/Title IX.” Team Jim Thorpe is comprised of Hon. Eric Keen (Judicial Master), Stefanie Field (Attorney Master), Wendy Seto (Attorney Master), Sophia Choi (Barrister), Chris Heikaus Weaver (Barrister), Mona Nemat (Barrister), Jeremy Roark (Associate), and Luisa Tamez (Associate).

The presentation began with a biography of the team namesake. Jim Thorpe was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. He won gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics in the decathlon and pentathlon events. He was stripped of his medal after it was found that he played (and was paid for) semi-professional baseball prior to the Olympics. In 1983, the International Olympics Committee restored his Olympic medals and he was named co-champion in the decathlon and pentathlon events.

The team presentation consisted of sports channel reporting as ESPiNN. Two team members were anchors of the telecast, with other team members serving as reporters and/or athletes. The audience learned about Title IX, the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA), and SCOTUS case (2021) where the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that ended the NCAA’s nationwide limits on education-related benefits athletes can receive for playing collegiate sports.

After the presentation concluded, Inn President Abram Feuerstein informed the members that February’s joint Inn meeting was canceled due to COVID-19.

Team members are invited to send Executive Administrator Sherri Gomez their vote (1 to 5) for the presentation. The winning team for Best Team Presentation will be announced in September 2022.