Vicarious Liability in the Sports Industry

This timely book is the first to critically examine the doctrine of vicarious liability in the context of the sports industry.

Drawing on theoretical, empirical and interdisciplinary research, the book focuses on the close connection test at stage two of vicarious liability, highlighting how vicarious liability could be used to hold sports employers strictly liable for a wide range of on-the-field and off-the-field harms committed by their athletes. It considers the extent to which vicarious liability might be applied to clubs and sporting organisations for personal injuries and racial abuse suffered by participants during competition, and examines whether employers in the sports industry ought to be held vicariously liable for the sexual assault of young athletes and women away from the field.

This book is important reading for any student, researcher or practitioner interested in sports law, tort law, private law theory, socio-legal studies, jurisprudence, gender studies and sports ethics.

?The vibrancy of vicarious liability as a doctrine in the law of tort cannot be denied.  James Brown?s monograph takes us to the sports industry and asks some fundamental questions about the scope of this doctrine in relation to the torts of athletes both on- and off-the-field, which has not previously received in-depth analysis.  By adopting  a theoretical, interdisciplinary and empirical approach to the doctrine, Brown argues that a continued expansion of the doctrine is both defensible and normatively desirable. This is a valuable contribution to tort law theory, but also related disciplines such as sports law and gender studies.? 

-Professor Paula Giliker, University of Bristol.

?James Brown?s Vicarious Liability in the Sports Industry is a groundbreaking and fascinating analysis of a novel and important issue. Whilst the discussion is centred on the many aspects associated with vicarious liability in the sporting industry, the legal debates considered so expertly by Brown have a much wider application to many aspects of society. It will be an important and useful resource for students and academics alike.? 

-Professor Jodi Gardner, University of Auckland.