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2 Antitrust @ Sports L. 1 (2023-2024)

handle is hein.journals/anttspdlw2 and id is 1 raw text is: Winter 2n12._7fl4 Vnl 7 kIcce 1 Settlement Saves MLB Antitrust Exemption (For Now) By Christopher R. Deubert, Senior Writer O n November 2, 2023, it was reported that Major League Baseball (MLB), had agreed to a settlement with two former minor league clubs in a lawsuit challeng- ing MLB's antitrust exemption and which was on path for review by the Supreme Court. The settlement comes after a range of interests submitted amicus briefs supporting the clubs' petition and overturning the exemption. The settlement resolves the litigation and keeps the exemp- tion intact but might invite copycat lawsuits from other aggrieved former minor league clubs. CASE BACKGROUND The case arises out of the decision by MLB and its 30 member clubs to reconfigure its Minor League Baseball (MiLB) arrangements. For more than 100 years, MLB and Again Challenged - Baseball's Antitrust Exemption Lives On By Dr Robert J. Romano, JD, LL.M, Senior Writer, St. John's University T he U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision of Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, in what would be considered today as extremely dubious logic, held that Major League Baseball (MLB) has the right to conduct its business without fear of violating the Sherman Act and provided the game of professional baseball with a highly coveted, and what has turned out to be a longstanding, antitrust exemption. In a somewhat desultory opinion written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, after adopting the rational of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Chief Justice found: The business is giving exhibitions of baseball, which are 1 Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 259 U.S. 200, 42 S.Ct. 465, 66 L.Ed. 898 (1922). 4 'H MiLB clubs operated pursuant to a Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) through which MLB clubs affiliated with MiLB clubs, most of which were independently owned and operated, up to six affiliates per club. In 2019, there Copyright © 2023 Hackney Publications (hackneypublications.com) ANTITrust a Sports Law