Re-examining the Place of Race in Sports
Former Olympic Medalist Turned Civil Rights Activist to
Join Legal Scholars at West Virginia University College of Law
to Discuss Race in Sports
The West Virginia University College of Law Sports & Entertainment Law Society will present a panel titled Re-examining the Place of Race in Sports. The panel features Dr. John Carlos, a former Olympic medalist turned civil rights activist: Timothy Davis professor of law at Wake Forest University and author of numerous scholarly works on sports law and its intersection with race; and andré douglas pond cummings, professor of law at West Virginia University and widely published author on issues of discrimination and hostile race imagery perpetuated by professional and collegiate athletic teams. The College of Law will host the discussion September 11, 2008 at 11 a.m. in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom at the Law Center on the campus of West Virginia University.
“This Summer’s Olympic games hosted in Beijing China, a country that continues to struggle with issues of equality, discrimination and social justice provides a poignant example as this panel convenes to explore issues of race in sports” says Professor andré douglas pond cummings. “Who better to talk about the important role that sports can play in combating discrimination and inequality than Dr. John Carlos who famously risked his athletic career by raising a black-gloved fist on the medal stand during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City to protest the oppression of African Americans in the United States. In addition, Professor Timothy Davis provides the insight of one of the premier sports law scholars in the United States having written widely on issues pertaining to justice and equality in sports.”
The panel will seek to advance the dialogue raised at the WVU College of Law Sports & Entertainment Law Society’s 2007 symposium Reversing Field: Examining Commercialization, Labor and Race in 21st Century Sports Law, that featured 30 distinguished panelists from across the nation discussing legal issues affecting collegiate and professional athletics, including commercialization, race, gender equity, and drug testing.
Panelists
Dr. John Carlos won the bronze medal in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics. His “silent protest” on the medal stand with gold medalist Tommie Smith protesting against racism and economic depression for all oppressed peoples catapulted Dr. Carlos into a key role in the ongoing civil rights movement, a cause he has championed throughout his life. In 2003, Dr. Carlos was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame. This year, Dr. Carlos will receive the 2008 Arthur Ashe award at the annual ESPY awards sponsored by ESPN.
Timothy Davis is one of the foremost experts on the intersection of race and the law. Co-author of Sports Law and Regulation: Cases, Materials, and Problems and The Business of Sports Agents, Professor Davis serves on the Review Board for the United States Anti-Doping Agency and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the National Sports Law Institute. Prior to teaching at Wake Forest University, Professor Davis taught for nine years at Southern Methodist University and practiced commercial litigation in Denver, Colorado.
andré douglas pond cummings professor of law at the West Virginia University College of Law teaches Sports and Entertainment Law among other subjects. He has published numerous articles in connection with sports and equality including articles discussing the Rooney Rule in the National Football League and the inappropriate use of American Indian mascots and imagery by professional and collegiate athletic teams. While practicing corporate law in Chicago, Illinois at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, cummings also represented several athletes in the National Football League. Professor cummings was recently named the 2007-2008 “Professor of the Year” by the WVU College of Law Class of 2008.