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The global pandemic of COVID-19 has disrupted every facet of life, including higher education. In the United States, most universities were forced to close at the onset of the pandemic and move to an entirely remote learning platform.

Earlier this year, we wrote about the controversial “no-call” from the NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams.

Last Sunday, the NFL season culminated with a 13-3 Super Bowl win by the New England Patriots over the Los Angeles Rams.

In the United States, free speech rights extend to sports fans. On the other hand, private actors, such as sports teams, may restrict speech because the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment only applies to the government and other “state actors.”

As we enter the eleventh week of the NFL season, former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has remained a free agent since March 2017, continues to play an active role off the field. Prior to the start of the season, arbitrator Stephen A. Burbank denied the NFL’s request to dismiss Kaepernick’s labor grievance against the League, allowing his case to proceed to a full hearing.

On August 29, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Mychal Kendricks, a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, who at the time of the alleged activity played for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Damilare Sonoiki, a former investment banking analyst at a large investment bank, alleging multiple instances of insider trading from July 2014 through November 2014.