Leaving it all on the Field? Analysing the Appropriate Scope of Vicarious Liability for Athletes in the Sports Industry

This research seeks to address the existing uncertainty surrounding the appropriate theoretical justification for vicarious liability, and it does so by developing and deploying a contextual-pluralist model of employer liability. In recognising that none of the purported rationales for the doctrine are entirely satisfactory on their own, this thesis presents a novel framework of vicarious liability that is sensitive to context, factual nuance and empirical insight.

In order to test how this model works in practice, this study examines how it might be applied to the eclectic and ever-developing context of sport. This is the first work to provide an in-depth analysis of vicarious liability in the sporting industry, and it draws upon a variety of different sports at numerous levels of expertise. As such, it explores how a more theoretically informed model of vicarious liability might lead to some amateur sports clubs being held strictly liable for the torts of their players. Similarly, it also demonstrates how other entities in professional sport – such as national governing bodies and competition organisers – may also be held vicariously liable for the wrongful behaviour of athletes that compete under their auspices. Furthermore, and in assessing what functions are inherent in an athlete’s employment, this thesis additionally analyses the extent to which sporting employers should be held liable for a variety of personal and non-personal on-the-field injuries. In recognising the broader off-the-field responsibilities of many professional athletes, this study also discusses whether clubs and governing bodies ought to be held vicariously liable for sexual violence committed by their star athletes.

In applying my theoretical and socio-legal model of liability to these various contexts, this thesis aims to illustrate what broader lessons we might learn about vicarious liability from a sport-specific analysis. It also seeks to highlight some practical recommendations for sporting stakeholders to implement.