Negligence 

1. "For an interesting case involving the concept of duty under negligence law, see Kleinknecht v. Gettysburg College (1993), which addressed the issue of the duty owed to an intercollegiate athlete if he or she is injured while participating in sports on campus. What duty of care does a university owe an intramural participant in providing for his or her safety?"

Participant Vs. Participant Liability

1. "Consider the heated exchange that took place between Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series. Piazza has had much success against Clemens in his career. During an at-bat, Piazza's shattered bat flew in the direction of Clemens, who quickly scooped up the bat and discarded it in the general direction of Piazza. If the bat had hit and injured Piazza, would Piazza have had grounds for a civil lawsuit against Clemens for damages? On what basis could a jury find Clemens liable?"

Liabilities of Team Physicians

1. "Does a team physician have a duty to the team or to the player? Could a player sue a team doctor for failure to diagnose an injury? Consider the case of Jeff Novak, a former Southwest Texas State standout who sued the Jacksonville Jaguars team physician, Stephen Lucke. Novak was awarded $4.35 million by a Jacksonville jury in July 1999. The verdict was overturned less than a week later by Judge Frederick Tygart, who indicated that he saw no evidence of negligence by Dr. Lucke. Novak best described the position of the team physician: "I think it's probably the toughest environment a doctor can have in the whole world. You've got coaches that want them on the field. You've got physicians who are tied up in wanting that team to win as well and wanting to make the coach happy so he can be there again next year as the team doctor of the Jacksonville Jaguars." Novak had filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Jaguars' team physicians for medically clearing him to practice with a hematoma on his right leg. Coach Tom Coughlin testified in his deposition in the lawsuit that he "can and will exert as much pressure on the player and the doctors to get the player on the field" (Roberts, 2004, para. 8). The case eventually settled for $2.2 million."

Liability of Coaches and Athletic Administrators 

1. "In which of the following scenarios could a coach be held liable for injuries to a student-athlete? In your answer, explain how each of the elements of negligence would apply.
   1. Making student-run extra laps for being late to practice, as a result of which the student suffers injuries.
   2. Requiring players to perform one-on-one tackling drills with a weight difference of 70 pounds between the two players.
   3. Requiring a player to continue playing notwithstanding that the player has suffered an injury."

 Liability of Officials and Referees

1. "Under what circumstances can a referee be held liable for negligence? What about a referee who accidentally gives a football team an extra down that allows the opposite team to score a touchdown and win the championship? What about a referee who miscalculates the time left in the game and allows one team extra time to kick a winning field goal?"

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Negligence is the failure to exercise the care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same or similar circumstances In the context of sports negligence can occur when a coach athletic administ... View the full answer