Civil Rights
Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
Sports and law intersect more often than one may expect. In 2014, several high-profile athletes were charged with crimes or involved in criminal proceedings. But legal troubles weren't just limited to athletes. Cheerleaders and team owners also got into the mix with headline-grabbing legal issues of their own.
What were this year's biggest sports-related legal stories? Here are the 10 most popular posts from FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty in 2014:
- Oscar Pistorius Trial: 5 Legal Facts You May Not Know -- The trial of Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic star accused of murdering his girlfriend, highlighted some of the major differences between the South African and American criminal justice systems.
- Clippers Controversy: Legal to Record Donald Sterling's Comments? -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was secretly recorded by his girlfriend making racist comments. Her release of those recordings posed some interesting legal questions regarding eavesdropping and privacy laws.
- Colin Kaepernick Responds to Police Probe: 5 Important Points -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick became one the many NFL players linked to criminal activity this year when a Miami police announced that they were investigating sexual assault allegations made against him.
- Sochi Olympics: What's the Tax on Medals for U.S. Athletes? -- In 2014, U.S. athletes who won medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics paid a higher tax on their winnings (which include prize money) than athletes at the Summer Olympics in 2012.
- Oscar Pistorius Not Guilty of Murder: 5 Things You Should Know -- Following a six-month trial, Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder by a judge, although he was later found guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge.
- Is the NFL's New Fantasy Football League Legal Where You Live? -- The NFL launched its own Fantasy Football leagues this season, but the NFL's pay-to-play leagues were prohibited by state gambling laws in several states.
- Ex-NFL Cheerleader, 47, Charged With Rape of Boy, 15 -- A woman known for being the oldest cheerleader in NFL history also became known for allegedly raping a 15-year-old boy who attended her son's school.
- Ravens' Ray Rice Charged in Alleged Assault on Fiancee -- Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was charged with assault after prosecutors obtained video of Rice dragging his fiancee's unconscious body out of an elevator in an Atlantic City casino.
- 49ers Bathroom Brawl Caught on Video: 2 Arrested, 2 Hospitalized -- Some unruly San Francisco 49ers fans broke in the team's new stadium with a bathroom melee which sent two men to the hospital and two other men to jail.
- FSU Recruit Cinmeon Bowers Arrested for Eating Marijuana -- A junior college football player recruited to play at Florida State was arrested after he was accused of eating marijuana in order to hide it from police during a traffic stop.
That's it for the 2014 Tarnished Twenty all-star squad. But there will doubtlessly be more legal issues impacting athletes and affecting sports in 2015. See you next season.
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