UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Donald Fehr, who has directed player unions in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball for more than three decades, headlines the daylong Sports Labor Conference that will be held Friday, Nov. 9, on the University Park campus of Penn State.
The conference includes a continental breakfast, three panel discussions, lunch and a keynote lecture by Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players Association since 2010 and former head of the MLB Players Association for 25 years.
All sessions are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and RSVPs are suggested. Visit CenterForSports.psu.edu for more information and to RSVP.
Three panels and lunch will be hosted in the Lewis Katz Building, home of Penn State Law.
A concluding keynote by Fehr, titled “How Labor Law Affected Sports and How Sports Affects Labor Relations,” will be conducted at 3:30 p.m. in Boardrooms 1-2 at the Nittany Lion Inn.
The complete schedule includes:
8 a.m., Continental Breakfast (112 Katz Building)
9 a.m., Panel 1: The Early Development of Collective Bargaining in Sports (112 Katz Building). Moderator: Dan Beaver, Penn State; Panelists: Richard Berthelsen, former general counsel NFL Players Association; and Steven Fehr, outside counsel to MLB Players Association and NHL Players Association.
10:30 a.m., Panel 2: Commonalities, Differences and Impact of Labor Relations in Sports and Other Industries (110 Katz Building). Moderator: Paul Whitehead, Penn State; Panelists: Dave Prouty, counsel to N.Y. Local of Service Employees International Union and outside counsel, MLBPA; and Harold Henderson, executive VP of labor relations, NFL.
11:30 a.m., Lunch (114 Katz Building)
11:45 a.m., Panel 3: Sports Labor Relations as It Matures (114 Katz Building). Moderator: Steve Ross, Penn State; Panelists: Donald Fehr, executive director, NHLPA; Doug Allen, Penn State professor of labor and industrial relations and former deputy director of NFL Players Association; and Roy Eisenhardt, former president, Oakland A's.
The conference is organized by the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society, with support from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, Penn State Law and the School of Employment and Labor Relations.
Penn State features a broad array of educators, practitioners and researchers whose professional work involves sports. Through collaborations and events organized by the multi-disciplinary Center for the Study of Sports in Society, those numerous experts across campus have the opportunity to collaborate.
Those involved with the center share information and research, organize programs featuring speakers on topics of mutual interest, and cooperate to enhance the educational experience for students. The group’s mission has been to incubate and facilitate discussion between academics, industry executives, and policymakers about research, regulation and reforms with regard to professional, intercollegiate, youth, and club-level amateur sports.