May 14-16, 2020
Hyatt Regency Miami
Miami, FL
Dear SLA Members:
As we represent the entire sports world it is only fitting that we act in a like manner, therefore, we are cancelling this year's conference in Miami. This was not an easy decision and it weighed heavily upon the executive committee as well as the entire board of the organization. As you know one of the highlights of membership in the Sports Lawyers Association is attendance at our Annual Conference. Not only does the program provide the best experts in the industry providing news and insight, but the networking opportunities are unparalleled. Unfortunately, the declaration of a pandemic by the WHO forced us to take a long hard look at moving forward, but once there was a declaration in Florida and yesterday the Miami Dade emergency declaration, the decision, although difficult, had to fall on the side of cancellation, but beyond the declared states of emergency, we have a responsibility to consider the well-being of our members and the community at large. With the recent declaration of a national emergency our decision made even more sense.
Over the next weeks we will be notifying you of some webinars that we will be offering at or near the time of what would have been this year's conference. We are expecting this to be something we continue beyond May as a means of fulfilling our mission of advancing our profession. Our goal is to bring panels scheduled for May to the digital world and as we set those programs we look forward to your participation.
I want to assure all of you that our mission to be the pre-eminent sports law organization continues. Our website offerings to members, the outreach events (also on a temporary hold), our new podcast programs and the Member in the Spotlight feature show that we truly are much more than our annual conference. Our community is strong and while the SLA will not be bringing you a major conference this year, we will have CLE available through a variety of means, not the least of which will be the upcoming webcasts as noted above.
Wishing all of you, your family, friends and colleagues, good health throughout this crisis and beyond. Thank you all for your continued support and see you in Los Angeles in May 2021!
Bobby Hacker
SLA President