At the close of the year, one sporting milestone nearly escaped us. With the passing of Kim Jong-Il we saw the loss of one of the world’s great multi-sport athletes. And, given his persistent penchant for international strife, we thought it would be a mistake to omit his accomplishments from Athletes-in-International-Court. Politically, Kim Jong-il was an unpredictable, international… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Packers Erik Walden Court Date now set in February
Posted in FootballA court date has been set for Green Bay Packers linebacker Erik Walden on a disorderly conduct-domestic abuse charge. He pled not guilty to the misdemeanor, which stems from a dispute with his girlfriend in November. A judge Tuesday set a trial date of Feb. 16, which is 11 days after the Super Bowl. Most attorneys familiar with… Continue Reading
Cricket Bats and Federal Court
Posted in Cricket, Federal FraudU.S. District Court in Houston will be the site of a sadly familiar story with an unusual central figure next month as the trial of Sir Allen Stanford begins. The familiar part is an allegedly 7 billion dollar Ponzy Scheme run by Stanford that bilked thousands of investors of their money. The new twist is Allen Stanford, the former… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds appeals conviction
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsBarry Bonds has appealed his conviction for obstruction of justice. Bloomberg reports that the former San Francisco Giants outfielder filed a notice of appeal Dec. 21 in federal court in San Francisco. He was sentenced to probation instead of prison time on Dec. 16 and was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to… Continue Reading
Olympic Athlete’s Male-Enhancement Nearly Cost Him His Career
Posted in Olympics, Performance Enhancing Drugs, Track & FieldLaShawn Merritt, the 25-year-old Olympic athlete once barred from competing due to an accidental doping scandal has now resurfaced, stronger, faster and wiser than ever. As Merritt gears up to compete in the 2012 London Games the New York Times profiled him and discussed what he learned after reflecting back on his embarrassing episode. What… Continue Reading
Penn State Scandal Moves Forward
Posted in Football, NCAA, Sex CrimesA judge in Pennsylvania ruled Friday that two former Penn State officials will stand trial on charges of lying to a grand jury about what they knew and when regarding sexual abuse allegations against former coach Jerry Sandusky. District Judge William Wenner held there was enough evidence against both former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and… Continue Reading
Dr. Anthony Galea Sentenced in Federal Court for HGH related offense
Posted in Baseball, Football, Performance Enhancing DrugsOn the same day that Barry Bonds was sentenced to a month of house arrest and two years probation for his part in obstructing the investigation into BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative) and the Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) it peddled, a well respected but largely unknown Canadian doctor was sentenced three-thousand miles away in Federal Court… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds given 2 years probation
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs, SentencingToday Barry Bonds received a suspended sentence in federal court of two years probation with, a month of home confinement, 250 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine. This was for his role in giving evasive testimony before the grand jury investigating BALCO (Bay Area Labratory Cooperative). US District Judge Susan Illston stayed the… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds sentencing today in Federal Court
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs, Punishment, SentencingBarry Bonds will appear before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston today to learn his fate for his obstruction of justice conviction. Bonds’ sentencing range under the federal sentencing guidelines is 15-21 months. The government has filed papers with the court asking that he receive the bottom of the guideline range, 15 months, but that the sentence be… Continue Reading
Sandusky Denies Discussion of Plea Deal
Posted in NCAAAccording to reports as varied ideologically as the New York Times to Fox News, moments before he slipped into a waiting SUV, a defiant Jerry Sandusky said that he fully intends “to put together the best possible defense and stay the course for four full quarters.” About an hour later, outside the local courthouse his attorney… Continue Reading
Sandusky lawyer chooses to waive preliminary hearing
Posted in NCAAJoseph Amendola lawyer for Jerry Sandusky waived a preliminary hearing today in a move that is portrayed in media outlets as unusual. The New York Times reports, “On Tuesday, in an hour long exchange with reporters outside the Centre County Courthouse, located 10 miles northeast of the Penn State campus, Amendola described the last-minute decision… Continue Reading
Sexual Abuse in Sports Spreads to Tennessee
Posted in BasketballAccording to a recent article on ESPN.com, two separate investigations into sexual abuse have been launched by police in Memphis, Tennessee and the Amateur Athletic Union after two former basketball players claimed that the leader of a youth sports organization molested them during the 1980s when they were boys. The men allege that Robert “Bobby” Dodd… Continue Reading
Pledging Allegiance at UConn
Posted in BasketballBefore the start of the Connecticut-Arkansas game last Saturday, some 14,333 fans, coaches and players were asked to join in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The practice of reciting the pledge before home games began as a tribute on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Though it has been received favorably thus far… Continue Reading
Concussions Lead to Lawsuits against NCAA for College Athletes
Posted in Football, NCAAAccording to a recent article in The New York Times, heavy hitting action in college sports has led to a class action lawsuit against the NCAA. In the suit, three former college football players and one soccer player allege the organization failed to do enough to raise awareness for or treat brain injuries in athletes…. Continue Reading