Olympic rings of steel: Constructing security for 2012 and beyond

Academic and political commentators have commonly sought to understand the Olympics as a cultural dynamic, a "spectacle" that motivates certain actors to project their relative interests in localized spaces and as well on a global scale (Hiller 2006; Boyle and Haggerty 2009b ). Mega-events, as this argument goes, are monumental cultural events (Roche 2000) that rely on the audacity of spectacle to dramatize and condition the cultural, political, legal and economic landscape. Extending these insights into surveillance studies, Boyle and Haggerty (2009b: 259-260) position spectacle and the disciplinary mechanisms of anxieties associated with mega-events to explain the risk management practices of security planners. The dynamic social implications of the spectacle condition dramatic regimes of securitization and surveillance such that sovereign power emanates from the production and consumption of spectacle. In similar fashion Vida Bajc (2007: 1648) writes that security meta-rituals "demonstrate[s] that the process of transformation of [the] public space [of mega-events] from one of routine of daily life into a sterile area [that] has a ritual form [that] .... separates insiders from outsiders and brings about a new socio-political reality." Put another way, the "security-meta ritual" legitimates security and surveillance practices by normalizing the social hierarchies it imposes. Bajc focuses on the over-determination of dividing practices in mega-event security, but the signifying practices associated with capital are absent (perhaps due to her empirical focus on presidential addresses). Klauser (2008: 181) links commercialization and mechanisms of surveillance, but only by foregrounding the significance of "neutralized space" created by granting absolute commercial rights to event sponsors. Neoliberalprivatization and its articulation with security and surveillance, however, cannot be reduced to control over sponsorship rights and consumptive practices in particular urban "zones," nor can it be limited by the methodological temporality of the event itself

Biometric Monitoring Devices: Modern Solutions to Protecting Athletes’ Data Privacy

Smartwatches like Fitbits provide users with easy access to quantifiable health data. In the sports industry, tracking this biometric information may be particularly beneficial to athletes, whose livelihoods revolve around their health and fitness. Nonetheless, under the current regime, professional and collegiate athletes’ biometric health data are inadequately protected. Data privacy law is still in its infancy, but in the meantime, athletes must consider that motivations to sell or misuse players’ biometric information may outpace legal developments. This Paper will analyze the promise and risk of collecting professional and collegiate athletes’ health and biometric data, particularly through fitness wearables. It will provide a closer look at wearables in professional sports and consider the increased risk posed to college athletes. Finally, this Paper will consider possible solutions to maximize the benefits of newfound technology while simultaneously minimizing risks to players’ health information, privacy, and personal data ownership

The Evolution of Data in Sports Betting and Its Legal Ramifications on the Privacy and Protections of College Athletes

Have you ever placed a sports bet before? Did you win… or did you lose? Did it come down to the final seconds… or did you regret your decision before the game even reached halftime? At times, betting on a sports team can seem like a sure-fire win. Unfortunately, it can be nearly impossible to truly know a result before it happens, especially in the sports industry, where a simple bad bounce can alter the final score, effectively causing millions of dollars to change hands. But what if there was a way to know something about the game that others don’t? Now, I’m not implying that a real-life Marty McFly walks amongst us. Instead, I want to take you back to October 29, 2020. In two days, the No. 2 ranked Clemson Tigers were set to take on the Boston College Eagles. At this time, placing a bet on the underdog, Boston College, to win the game could have been disregarded as a waste of money. However, pandemonium quickly struck the college football world as it was announced that Clemson’s star-QB and projected first-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Trevor Lawrence, tested positive for COVID-19. In just a matter of minutes, Boston College’s chances of pulling off an upset changed, and the sports betting lines adjusted accordingly. A bet on Boston College to win would now result in a lower expected return. That same person who placed the bet before Trevor Lawrence’s positive test though, might now be heralded for their extreme foresight, albeit lucky. Unfortunately, Boston College squandered a surprising halftime lead, thus ruining the day for any bettor pulling for the Eagles. However, this doesn’t mean these types of events are uncommon within sports. Something that once seemed so drastic has now turned into an almost every-night occurrence. Professional and collegiate sports leagues have attempted to play through the pandemic, while at the same time learning of positive tests of their players at random. When a player tests positive, he or she sits out, often for extended periods. And when a player sits out, the betting line changes. These instances aren’t simply limited to a pandemic, though. Much like the stock market, betting odds on sporting events change rapidly, sometimes by the second, effectively allowing individuals the chance to capitalize on this invaluable information. But what is it that drives these sports betting decisions? What is it that can be such a determinative factor in a team’s chance of winning or losing a game? The answer is data. If you were to ask a professional gambler, or even someone reasonably familiar with sports betting, they’ll say that you bet the numbers, not the teams. But what happens when a new subset of data changes the playing field? Are athletes protected in the ways we previously thought? Or is their data subject to exploitation in an industry just starting to take stride

Taboo Transactions: Selling Athlete Biometric Data

As consumers begin to realize the extent to which their biometric and health data are being tracked through wearable devices, new privacy concerns have arisen. These concerns are more than hypothetical as the unregulated sharing and disclosure of biometric and health data may have serious repercussions. This is especially true for the athletes whose data is tracked with precision and where a lucrative market of multiple parties anxious to obtain this data already exists. The ownership and use of this data have become an incredibly complex issue, as sports leagues, teams, and the device makers wrangle over how this data should be used, shared, and potentially commercialized. Recent advances in data analytics have resulted in insights into athletic performance that a little over a decade ago were unimaginable. In Michael Lewis\u27 Moneyball, he described how Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A\u27s, used advanced data analytics to build a winning baseball team. But biometric data promises even greater insight. This promise has made biometric data a priority across professional and amateur sports, however, it is not just teams and scouts with a major interest in this data, bookmakers and gamblers would also love to get access to this information. In light of the recent expansion of legalized sports gambling in the United States and the desirability of this in formation, we propose that measures need to be taken to protect the interests of professional athletes. We begin our examination by noting the sensitive nature of this type of data, which may include health, location, and performance in formation, requires the establishment of rules regarding how this data can be used with input from the players themselves. Currently, the use of this data may be controlled by the device maker or league rather than the athletes themselves. The concerns that the data collected from an athlete can be used against her in contract negotiations, made publicly available, discovered by competing teams through negligence or cyberespionage, or by gamblers or bookmakers looking to gain an edge must be addressed. We then investigate the important issue of ownership. To what extent should the league or the device maker be able to profit from a player\u27s athlete bometric data (ABD)? Not only do very few states have regulations addressing these issues, the current handling of ABD through bilateral agreements which do not include all stakeholders is insufficient. We conclude by proposing a new paradigm for addressing these concerns: Data Trusts

Title IX Sex Discrimination & Negligence Lawsuit Against Fargo Public School District & the Board of Education Partially Dismissed

Brian and Jennifer Berg filed a lawsuit as individuals and on behalf of their daughter Regan against the Fargo Public School District (FPSD) and the Board of Education in the City of Fargo in 2021. They argued that Regan faced sex discrimination, deliberate indifference under Title IX, the FPSD Handbook and negligence from FPSD following an alleged sexual assault by a male student off-campus

Tiger Daily: September 27, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS · Tiger Talkback Question EVENTS THIS WEEK/WEEKEND · Times Talk - TODAY, 12:00pm-1:00pm · Science Café – TODAY, 7:00pm · Kickoff of FHSU’s Journey Campaign – Wednesday, 9:30am · Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall Dedication Ceremony – Friday, 8:30am · The Journey Mural Unveiling – Friday, 10:00am FUTURE EVENTS · Free Biometric Screening Offered Worth 5 HealthQuest Credits – October 5 · Uncovering the Truth: Interview and Investigation Techniques Workshop – October 11, 8:30am to 4:30pm SHARE WITH STUDENTS · Student Organizations Oktoberfest 2016: Cash Boxes/Student Activity Account Credit Card Deadline/Process STUDENT ABSENCES Student Absences – Volleyball, Tenni