Today, I am going to go into depth about what a negative injunction is, and give an example where it has been seen in professional sport. In Contract Law class, we learned an injunction is a court order that either forces a party to do a specific act, or restrains them from doing something. If a party fails to perform or refrain from the specific act, they could face criminal or civil punishment. Negative injunctions have been sought out in professional sports primarily when players agreed to contracts with teams from rival leagues. Since athletes have a specific set of skills which cannot be compensated for, injunctions are what teams seek to force their players to perform their contract. In some instances, injunctions are granted, and in others - but very rarely - they are denied.
A case scenario of a negative injunction being passed was seen in the Washington Capitols Basketball Club, Inc. v. Barry case. Barry agreed to play for the American Basketball Association’s Oakland Oaks for three years. The team was then sold from Oakland to Washington, and then later renamed the Capitols. Barry was unsatisfied with the move and responded by signing a five year contract to play for the National Basketball Association’s San Francisco Warriors. The Capitols field a lawsuit to seek an injunction. Barry and the Warriors argued his contract with Oakland did not state he was going to be assigned to play in Washington. The court ruled in favour of the Capitols, and Barry fulfilled the remaining two years of his contract.
Cases of negative injunctions being denied are very rare in professional sports. As mentioned, this is probably because athletes’ skills and abilities are hard to be compensated for, and have no tangible value.
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