Sports Law and Society: Rules of the Game, Second Edition stands out for its exceptional depth and practical approach, offering a comprehensive, concise and clear examination of the legal challenges shaping today's sports industry. Designed to engage students, it covers foundational topics like contracts, collective bargaining, and intellectual property in sports while exploring complex, evolving issues such as gender equity, the global sports ecosystem, and data analytics in performance. Each chapter provides real-world examples and cases, giving students an applied understanding of how legal principles operate within professional, college, and youth sports. By balancing established legal doctrines with emerging topics-including artificial intelligence, digital media, athlete mental health, and the future of sports-this book equips readers with both historical context and foresight, making it particularly relevant for a dynamic field.
What sets this book apart is its critical focus on recent developments, with dedicated sections on the international governing bodies that impact sports law globally and discussions on ethical challenges, from athlete privacy in data analytics to collective bargaining rights. Updated chapters from this second edition provide current case law, essential references, and legal frameworks for understanding issues like contracts and data analytics, making it an invaluable resource for classroom use. Adaptable for various course structures, the book encourages students to critically engage with pressing questions in sports law, fostering a holistic understanding that prepares them for future careers. Ideal for courses on sports management, digital media, and law, this book is a unique tool for educators aiming to cultivate a deep, thoughtful perspective on sports and the law.

Michael E. Jones is Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he taught art, sport, and media law and served as the Director for the Legal Studies Program. He is recognized as one of the pioneer educators and practitioners in the field of Sports Law. He taught the first undergraduate Sports Law class in America. Jones began as an agent for professional athletes and TV celebrities and went on to co-create the Association of Representatives of Professional Athletes, which was later assigned to the NFL Players Association. Jones was the first Chairperson of the American Bar Association's International Forum Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law. He helped to write the first collective bargaining agreement for soccer in the US and has penned more than thirty law review articles. His other books include Intellectual Property Law Fundamentals, Second Edition (2019), Art Law (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), and Sports Law (1998).