by: Jill Gandingco There has been a media circus over alleged inappropriate behavior exhibited by Christian Horner (Horner), the team principal of Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team (Red Bull Racing), towards a female colleague (complainant). Horner is a prominent figure in the motorsport industry, has been on every season of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive,” and is the husband of Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls. Unfortunately, there has not been enough facts and information made available to the public. What we do have is a timeline of events based on a news article from Sky Sports: On Feb ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (originally published in Spin.ph) THE word “professional” is thrown around in sports a lot. We all know that tito, uncle, or God-forbid I’m-revealing-my-age, kabarkada who boasts that he could’ve turned pro if not for this or that. Yes, tito, you could’ve turned pro with your 30% free throw percentage. Of course you could.  But kidding aside, the word ‘professional’ has two big legal implications in Philippine sports law.  First: GAB Registration and Jurisdiction The first legal implication is mandatory registration with the Games and Amusements Board (GAB). GA ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (originally published on: Spin.ph) There’s been a lot of talk about name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws and rules concerning student-athletes in the United States. In the US, past NCAA rules had prohibited student-athletes from receiving compensation for their NIL, with student-athletes who did receive compensation disqualified from participating in NCAA tournaments and events.  This, however, has all changed. Individual states now have their own laws allowing student-athletes to be compensated for their NIL. Because laws override rules, the NCAA has now allow ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (originally posted on Spin.ph) WITH PATAFA threatening to bring down the hammer on celebrated Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena in its latest press statement, it’s just right that we have a brief Q&A on the legal issues on the latest developments. For a refresher on what went down today, read Spin.ph’s news report here. To catch up on the entire timeline of the controversy, tap here. What is PATAFA anyway? The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, Inc. or PATAFA is the national governing body for athletics in the Philippines. It’s the national spor ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles JRU Bomber John Amores let fly some bombs at yesterday’s NCAA game versus the College of Saint Benilde. Unfortunately, these bombs were of the illegal quality that could ultimately land the big man to jail. (You can watch a video of the incident here: https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/1589910449520513024) Let’s explore the different legal implications of his attack on the CSB players. First, he may face disciplinary sanctions from his school. As a student-athlete of JRU,  Amores is under its disciplinary authority. Schools have the legal authority to sanction ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (originally posted on Spin.ph and is an updated version of our 2016 post) SINCE OUR powerhouse performance in the recent Olympics, Republic Act 10699 — the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act — has been put on the spotlight because of the windfall it promised Olympic medalists Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial.  But did you know that RA 10699 also grants cash incentives to our athletes who will come home with medals in the upcoming Paralympics? Under RA 10699, the cash incentives for Olympians and Paralympians are as foll ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (published also in Spin.ph) FIVE SENATORS recently filed a resolution to conduct an inquiry on the Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team. With the 2023 FIBA World Cup just a year away — and with the Philippines co-hosting it with Japan and Indonesia — it seems the sense of urgency to fix Philippine basketball has reached the halls of Senate.  Some people will surely applaud the Senate move, while some will see it as another opportunity for government interference into sports. But let’s dive into the basic legal principles involved in this situation. Can the Senate ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (originally published on Spin.ph) TW: abuse and violence ON JULY 13, 2022, former UAAP courtside reporter Agatha Uvero accused her ex-boyfriend, PBA player and former UP standout Paul Desiderio, of physical and emotional abuse. In her tweets, Uvero outlined a series of horrific acts allegedly done by Desiderio to her during their relationship. These include: 1) Strangling her until she almost threw up, 2) Gripping her face “so hard to cause bruises”, 3) Grabbing Uvero’s hands and using them to hit her, 4) Throwing her into “a table, a bed, and a wall”, 5) Biting her ..read more

by: Mickey Ingles (previously posted on Spin.ph) WITH THE recent news that Patafa has filed a case against Olympic pole vaulter, EJ Obiena in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), many people are probably wondering — what is the CAS?  A court for sports, is there such a thing? Yes, there is. Let me give some helpful legal FAQs about the Court of Arbitration for Sport. What is CAS? CAS is an arbitration tribunal that resolves sports-related disputes. Its seat is in Lausanne, Switzerland. Despite its name, It is not a state-created court as we normally understand it, that ..read more

by: Alexa Dabao EJ Obiena’s rift with PATAFA is getting deeper by the day. While the PSC continues to push for mediation as the pathway to reconciliation, the world-class pole vaulter has announced his official withdrawal from the process. Here’s a quick briefer on sports mediation.  What is sports mediation? Sports mediation is a non-binding and informal process where parties in a sports-related dispute come together and agree to appoint a qualified neutral person (called a mediator) to facilitate and assist them in reaching a mutually agreed solution concerning the dispute. In short, it ..read more