Assume you have been named the commissioner of a new league for professional women’s rugby, the National Women’s Rugby League (NWRL). You are considering trying to structure the NWRL as a single entity rather than as a traditional league. Examine the Fraser v. Major League Soccer (2002) and Brown v. Pro-Football, Inc. (1996) cases for clues as to what factors courts deem important in finding the existence of a legitimate single entity structure.

Then take a close look at the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in American Needle.

Write a two-column outline comparing the pros and cons of the two league structures. Finally, write a two- to three-page memo to your prospective investors/team owners selling them on the virtues of your preferred structure. Be sure to read the McKeown (2009) law review article for additional information.

Remember that the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in American Needle is not the final word on this issue, because the case is still on remand in the lower federal courts.