CHAPTER 7. ATHLETES AND ATHLETE AGENTS

§420. Declaration of purpose

A. The legislature hereby recognizes that it is a special privilege afforded to athlete agents to contact student athletes to secure their athletic abilities for professional sports teams. The legislature also feels that with that privilege should come certain duties, obligations, and responsibilities. The legislature hereby enacts the laws of this Chapter to regulate those contacts and to protect young, inexperienced student athletes in this state from unscrupulous athlete agents and other persons who would seek to exploit such athletes, or their institutions or schools, when entering or seeking to enter into an agent contract or professional sport services contract or when obtaining or seeking to obtain employment with a professional sports team.

B. It is the further purpose of the legislature in enacting this Chapter to protect student athletes from contacts with and accepting things of value from athlete agents and other persons in a manner so as to cause such athletes to unintentionally lose their eligibility to compete in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics.

C. It is the further purpose of the legislature to protect the educational institutions and schools of this state from unscrupulous athlete agents, athletes, and other persons who would cause such institutions to suffer various sanctions as a result of unlawful activities in connection with athletes participating in sports at such institutions and schools.

D. Another purpose of the legislature in enacting this Chapter is to recognize that the relationship between a student athlete and their institution or school is one of contract.

E. Accordingly, the legislature, in enacting the provisions of this Chapter, hereby creates causes of action, rights, and remedies for such institutions and schools to recover for damages caused to the institution or school by any person acting in violation of this Chapter. Such causes of action specifically include but are not limited to the cause of action known as tortious interference with an athlete contract.

Acts 1999, No. 302, §1; Acts 2004, No. 351, §1.