UB Law Gathers National Experts on Amateur Athletics Oct. 29 to Ask Key Question: What Should America's Olympic Goals Be?
October 2, 2009
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
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An unprecedented gathering of amateur sports experts—ranging from Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency; and Deedee Corradini, president of U.S. Women's Ski Jumping and, as former mayor of Salt Lake City, a major figure in bringing the 2002 Winter Olympics to that city; to Doug Logan, current CEO of USA Track & Field and former commissioner, president and CEO of Major League Soccer; and John Ruger, athlete ombudsman for the United States Olympic Committee—will take place on Thursday, Oct. 29 at the University of Baltimore School of Law, when the school's Center for Sport and the Law hosts its inaugural amateur sports symposium, "From Doping to Diversity: Legal Issues in the American Olympic Movement."
The one-day event, free and open to the public (registration and attendance details listed below), will take place beginning at 9 a.m. in the school’s Moot Court Room and lobby, located on the first floor of the School of Law, 1415 Maryland Ave.
The conference is the result of the ongoing research and teaching of Dionne Koller, assistant professor in the School of Law and director of the Center for Sport and the Law.
"We are inviting key decision makers and expert commentators from the Olympic, Paralympic and even the Paralympic Military movements to consider some of the most important questions facing amateur athletics today," Koller said. "What should our nation's Olympic goals be? How should we—and can we—accommodate diversity in the Olympic movement? How does the United States Olympic Committee resolve athlete disputes and deal with allegations of illegal doping? We are addressing these questions to many of the people who built the movement, and to those who are carrying it into the future."
Koller noted that while professional athletics is held in high regard in countries all over the globe, it is the Olympic Movement in all of its forms that seems to raise the expectations of massive audiences.
"Consistently, it is amateur competition, taking place on a worldwide stage, that compels us in terms of national pride, societal priorities and even our place in history," she said. "President Obama's recent trip to Copenhagen to make the case for the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid shows just how important it is to a nation's prestige to stake a claim to the Olympic enterprise."
Koller's academic focus has been on the Olympic Games, specifically what role they should play in the health and well being of not only the athletes who participate, but of the everyday person who derives physical and emotional benefits from sport. To that end, she has written extensively on the legal aspects of the Olympic movement for law journals, and has provided pro bono representation for Olympic athletes involved in eligibility disputes. She currently serves on the Executive Board for the Sports Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools.
The Center for Sport and the Law was established in 2009 with the support of the Baltimore Orioles and the Baltimore Ravens franchises to foster academic leadership, community engagement and student excellence in the theoretical and practical aspects of amateur and professional sports law. The center sponsors academic symposia, generates scholarship and engages in community partnerships that serve to provide students, the legal community and amateur and professional sports stakeholders with an enhanced understanding of the legal structures and institutions which shape various athletic contexts, including recreational, interscholastic, intercollegiate, professional and the Olympic movement.
Seating for "From Doping to Diversity: Legal Issues in the American Olympic Movement" is limited, and pre-registration is requested by October 23. To register online, visit the online registration page. For more information or registration by phone, call 410.837.4468.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.