K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - July 2025 #5

Sports:

• Professional swimmers have reached a settlement ending their claims accusing the sport’s international governing body of organizing a group boycott against an upstart league, while the league’s antitrust claims against the governing body remain set for a January trial. Swimmers Cut Deal In Antitrust Case Against Governing Body – Law360
• The complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial is disappointed with the not-guilty verdicts for all five of the accused but extends her gratitude for the support she’s received, her lawyer told reporters Thursday afternoon. NHL Says Five Players In Hockey Canada Trial Can’t Return For Now As Lawyers For E.M. And Accused React To Verdict – Hockey News
• The National Basketball Association (NBA), along with support from the National Football League (NFL), is urging the United States Supreme Court to provide a definitive interpretation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a law enacted in the 1980s to protect consumer video rental and viewing records. Supreme Court urged by NBA to clarify 37-year-old law – Newsweek

NCAA

• President Trump on Thursday introduced new rules for the name, image and likeness and revenue-sharing deals that have shaken up college sports in recent years, seeking to rein in what the White House called an “out-of-control, rudderless system.” Trump signs executive order laying out new rules for money in college sports and NIL deals – CBS

MLB

• A former Houston Astros CEO testified Thursday in state court that the baseball team fully trusted owner Drayton McLane Jr. during his 2011 sale of the team when he said Comcast Corp. could deliver on a plan estimated to be worth $700 million over eight years. Ex-Astros CEO Says He Fully Trusted Owner During 2011 Sale – Law360
• Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini was convicted Monday of first-degree murder of his father-in-law and attempted murder of his mother-in-law over a financial dispute. Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini convicted of murdering father-in-law in $1.3 million feud – NYP

Entertainment:

FILM & TELEVISION

• The Federal Communications Commission gave the green light to Skydance Media’s controversial $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global and its subsidiaries, including CBS’ parent company, setting aside concerns that the deal will hurt competition. Federal regulators approve Paramount’s $8B merger with Skydance | AP News

LAWSUITS OF THE RICH & FAMOUS

• Shia LaBeouf has reached a settlement with FKA Twigs to resolve the English singer’s claims that the actor beat and berated her and used his reputation as an eccentric artist to continue a “pattern and practice” of abusing women. Shia LaBeouf, FKA Twigs Reach Settlement in Sexual Battery Lawsuit
• “Masquerading as a white knight,” billionaire film producer David Geffen ensnared his now-estranged, decades-younger husband Donovan Michaels with promises of love, equality and life partnership, but Geffen broke all those promises when Michaels sought independence and equal footing in their marriage, according to a complaint filed in CA state court. David Geffen’s Husband Donovan Michaels Files Lawsuit Against Mogul
• Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is urging an AL federal court to send toward trial his extortion lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm, a NYC lawyer and her firm, and a client of theirs who accused him of rape and then dropped her case. Jay-Z Defends Extortion Claims Against Buzbee, Other Attys – Law360

MUSIC

• A special master has recommended that a CA federal judge hand Pandora Media a summary-judgment win in high-stakes copyright infringement litigation by a group of comedians, including Lewis Black, George Lopez and Ron White, who allege the streaming service lacked licenses for the underlying jokes in their comedy routines, finding that the comedians waited too long to sue. Pandora Comedy Lawsuit: Streamer Wins Big in Fight With Comics