This Field Is Our Field: Foreign Players, Domestic Leagues, and the Unlawful Racial Manipulation of American Sport

Article by N. Jeremi Duru

This Article argues that the MLS Policy restricting the numbers of international players on its teams' rosters does, in fact, perpetuate unlawful racial discrimination. While the Policy does not facially discriminate against prospective players on the basis of race, and while its drafters may not have intended racial exclusion, the MLS Policy disproportionately and negatively impacts players of color--particularly blacks and Latinos. In that the MLS Policy serves to racially exclude in violation of federal antidiscrimination law, it demands scrutiny. This Article provides that scrutiny, examines the implications the MLS Policy has for America's other premier professional sports leagues, and ultimately argues that MLS should abandon the Policy.


About the Author

N. Jeremi Duru. Associate Professor of Law, The James E. Beasley School of Law, Temple University. J.D., Harvard Law School; M.P.P., Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government; B.A., Brown University

Citation

84 Tul. L. Rev. 613 (2010)