While many of us may long be beyond mandatory reading lists (students and professors, please disregard), joining in the spirit of those returning to school, the DEI Committee of the Sports Lawyers Association assembled a list of books that we would like to recommend.

In fact, we received so many recommendations from our group that we had to split the list in two: so, prepare for an additional “holiday gift recommendation” book list in a few months too.

The following list of fifteen (15) books includes a mix of sports- and non-sports books, predominantly non-fiction and one fiction (“Theo of Golden: A Novel”, by Allen Levi). Most importantly, each book should advance your understanding or thoughts of diversity, equity, and inclusion in some way or another.

Lastly, the list includes books by esteemed members of our committee, Jeremi Duru and Nona Lee, and former SLA President, Kenneth Shropshire. For convenience, the books are grouped and presented as sports and non-sports then alphabetized by book title with genre/topic identifiers included.

Enjoy!

The House v. NCAA settlement and the broader NIL revolution it ratified have created a marketplace in which a quarterback's endorsement deal, a basketball player's social media presence, and a swimmer's commercial appearances are recognized as legitimate commerce.^[1] However, that transformation has not reached all athletes equally. For the more than 27,000 international student-athletes who compete in NCAA athletics, nearly eight percent of the total student-athlete population, the NIL revolution has been largely theoretical.^[2] The F-1 student visa, under which virtually all international college students enter the United States, broadly prohibits off-campus, non-curricular employment.^[3] A brand endorsement, a licensing agreement, a paid promotional appearance can each constitute a form of unauthorized work under federal immigration law, potentially jeopardizing an international athlete's visa status, enrollment, and right to remain in the country.^[4]

The salary cap has shaped professional sports since its debut in the NBA during the 1984-1985 season, with other leagues like the NFL and the NHL following suit.[1] However, no league’s cap has had as profound an impact on competitive balance as the NHL’s, primarily because of how low it is relative to the market value of the players and the size of the team. One of the more complex mechanisms that has emerged under the hard cap system is the use of Long-Term Injury Reserve (“LTIR”), which teams have used strategically to navigate, and at times to circumvent, cap restrictions

Student-athletes today face a growing safety crisis fueled by two converging forces: the rise of NIL monetization and the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting. While NIL has empowered athletes to build personal brands and capitalize financially, it has also dramatically increased their public exposure and corresponding vulnerability to harassment, coercion, and physical threats. At the same time, prop betting markets have incentivized direct harassment tied to individual performance, creating real-time pressure on student-athletes. Despite some NCAA initiatives and limited legislative responses, meaningful protections remain incomplete and dangerously inadequate.