As Los Angeles prepares to host major international sporting events, including the Super Bowl and World Cup next year, and the Olympics in 2028, Venable attorneys recommended organizations bolster their crisis management plans now. Speaking at an event for clients and colleagues in Los Angeles, Venable partners Desirée F. Moore, Jennifer Daskal, and Christopher R. O’Brien detailed how clubs, leagues, teams, National Governing Bodies, and event operators should prepare for and respond to catastrophic scenarios, such as mass-casualty incidents or digital misinformation crises.
“Even with a micro crisis, being prepared before something happens is the number one takeaway of this program,” Moore said.
The panel walked through a hypothetical attack during a major sports event to underscore the importance of planning, to include security reviews, exercising crisis management plans, reviewing insurance policies, checking vendor agreements, thinking through strategic communications, and coordinating with law enforcement.
Legal and Operational Lessons for Crisis Management in Sports
The panelists outlined the first actions a general counsel or executive should take following a crisis. Daskal stressed that the first goal is to ensure everyone’s physical safety. This will often require coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement in order to secure scene and protect against the risk of escalating harm. Daskal urged quick and thoughtful engagement with the relevant authorities –with counsel present. Daskal also emphasized the importance of thoughtful communication,
noting that “whatever you think happened in those first moments always evolves.”
Moore agreed that careful communication is essential. “We want the [FBI] and local law enforcement involved right away…However, you want to be very careful what you say, because none of those conversations are going to be privileged.” She added that in a fast-moving digital environment, “there will be no way to curtail what people are saying.” Instead, she recommended issuing a concise holding statement showing the organization “is being proactive, that you are engaged, that you’re concerned.”
Daskal and Moore also walked through the list of issues to consider: reporting obligations, communication with insurers, relevant clients and applicable contracts, potential for future oversight, litigation risk, and reputational considers. The panelists noted that Venable is available to help with all of these.
Counter-Drone Rules, Brand Recovery, and Human Impact
The panel also examined the legal landscape surrounding new threats, including those posed by emerging technology, such as drones. Daskal, who previously served at the Department of Homeland Security and the White House National Security Council, said only a few federal agencies currently have authority to engaged in advanced detection and mitigation of drone threats. “It is incredibly easy…to weaponize drones,” she said. “We are, unfortunately, not sufficiently prepared as a nation to respond to that threat.” Daskal noted, however, that there were things that entities could do, including working to establish no fly zones around certain mass events and advance coordination with federal authorities to get appropriate mitigation tools in place.
Moore added that crisis management extends beyond liability. “There is a brand opportunity embedded in being at the center of a crisis,” she said. “If you do things like come together with your community…[showing] that you stand shoulder to shoulder with them instead of retracting, being defensive, not addressing the crisis.”
Closing the event, O’Brien reminded attendees of the human side of crisis response. “At the end of the day, this is a human tragedy that is unfolding in real time, and you can’t lose sight of that,” he said.
If you have questions about sports and crisis management, please contact the authors or anyone on Venable's Sports Law team. Subscribe to Chalk Talk, your legal playbook for the ever-evolving sports industry.