Loyola University Chicago School of Law recently profiled alumna Desirée Moore, highlighting her journey from competitive gymnastics and dance to nearly two decades as a practicing attorney in sports law. The following is an excerpt:.
Desirée Moore’s career in sports began early: After starting gymnastics at age 5, she trained competitively until age 17, when a back injury curtailed her career. But she loved sports and movement, so she became a dancer, performing with the San Diego Dance Theater. After college, while preparing for the LSATs, Moore (JD ’05) spent a summer in Chicago participating in a dance residency and realized the Windy City was where she wanted to attend law school. She remembers thinking, “Chicago truly is the best city in the world. I should apply to law school here.” When she looked at schools, she says, “Loyola just felt like home. There’s no other way to describe it.”
Moore’s interest in sports never waned, so after she graduated from law school, she reached out to the then-CEO of USA Gymnastics (USAG) to ask about opportunities to work with the organization and stayed in touch with him over the years. In 2018, Moore was appointed chair of USAG’s Ethics and Grievance Committee, where she worked with a team to triage athlete grievances and helped the organization elevate and fortify athlete safety practices. “It was a wonderful opportunity to become involved in the sport again,” she says.
As a practicing attorney for nearly 20 years, Moore has worked closely with sports national governing bodies, professional clubs, teams, and leagues in crisis management, SafeSport and safeguarding matters, labor and employment work, and litigation. Now, as a partner at Venable LLP in Chicago, she co-leads the firm’s sports law practice group, handling all manner of legal work for sports (and other) clients.
For the full article, click here.