Author: Aron Solomon

First appeared in BOXSCORE By Aron Solomon There are probably more artful ways of saying it, but these early days for what has become the straight-up pay-to-play of the highest level of college sports haven’t been great. A quick history lesson: In the pre-NIL days, you had guys who owned car dealerships and local banks, and a bunch of businesses. Give money illegally, under the table, for big-time athletes to play at big-time schools. That’s pretty much exactly how it worked. Play football for us and your mom gets to drive this turquoise Thunderbird. You love your mom, right? She loves…

First appeared in NewsBreak By Aron Solomon This morning we all learned that two million Cosori brand air fryers were immediately being recalled because they can cause serious burns and property damage. CBS Newswatch reported that over 200 Cosori air fryers were reported catching fire, burning, melting, overheating and smoking. If two million air fryers sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. But the numbers are this high because Cosori is a brand that simultaneously took advantage of two compelling points of intersection in the consumer world. The first is our collective lust for air fryers, fueled by the pandemic.…

First appeared in BOXSCORE By Aron Solomon Lamar Jackson is an interesting study in every way. With an expiring contract, all eyes are on Lamar in this long NFL off-season to see where things will go. This isn’t a new saga. The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar have been trying to reach a new agreement for over a year. For what must clearly be a variety of reasons, they haven’t. Forgoing an agent, Lamar is self-represented. With credible reports that the two sides are $100 million apart in how they see the guaranteed money piece of Lamar’s next contract, by all…

As first appeared in News Break By Aron Solomon In this image from Nike’s legal filing, originally posted by Highsnobiety, it’s clear to both the average person and us sneakerheads that A Bathing Ape, more commonly referred to as “Bape,” almost certainly crossed the line here from design homage to intellectual property theft. As the lawsuit itself states, “Bape’s current footwear business revolves around copying Nike’s iconic designs….” As I have discussed at length, Nike aggressively defends its intellectual property rights, which is part of why Nike is Nike. The sneaker behemoth has long used the actual law as well as the specter…

Interview with Today’s Esquire’s Celebrity Lawyer Aron Solomon By Marc Ang With Britney Spears dominating the news again, just hours ago, the “Baby One More Time” hitmaker and her husband Sam Aghzari shut down rumors that she needed help and an intervention, a narrative outlets like TMZ and some “fans” on the Internet have been spreading. Britney stated, “It makes me sick to my stomach that it’s even legal for people to make up stories that I almost died … I mean at some point enough is enough !! I’m probably going to have to stop posting on Instagram because…

As first appeared in AS IF MAGAZINE By Aron Solomon Adidas finds itself today in a perfect storm. As the new year has come and they prepare to release their first post-Yeezy Yeezy, they are sitting on $500 million of deadstock Yeezys that they have absolutely no idea what to do with.  As an OG sneakerhead, I was intrigued when CNN entered the dialogue, suggesting three possible solutions for Adidas : destroy them, rebrand them, or export them. Here’s why each one of these ideas is bad, followed by what Adidas should actually do: Destroy them: It’s the best of the…

As first appeared in NewsBreak By Aron Solomon Guilty until proven innocent is a pretty lousy credo when applied to college students. But that’s where we find ourselves today with the NCAA’s new stance to combat a ridiculous Pandora’s Box of their own creation. Unpacking that box is something Nicole Auerbach did exceedingly well in The Athletic. Auerbach points out that the “NIL Presumption” reforms place colleges and student-athletes in the guilty until proven innocent category. As long as there is an allegation and even circumstantial evidence that a violation of NCAA name, image, and likeness rules happened, the burden of proof…

As first appeared in Boston Herald By Aron Solomon A human owning what they perceive to be a self-driving car will imagine many scenarios that are best left in their mind. One that never should have seen the light of day just did. A cat “driving” a Tesla across the Golden Gate Bridge made its way around social media last week, yet another example of why we can’t have nice things. In all seriousness, current or future Tesla owners, please don’t do this. First, it’s a pretty safe bet that whatever your home jurisdiction is, this violates the terms and conditions…

As first appeared in The Western Journal By Aron Solomon It took the jury in the Elon Musk class action around two hours to decide that he was not legally responsible for what happened to investors who relied on his 2018 tweets in which he claimed that funding was secured to take Tesla private. The jury foreman called the case against Musk “disorganized,” explaining to the plaintiff’s lawyers that he didn’t know what they were driving at and that the case seemed to rely entirely on the tweets. That’s because the case could and should have been won entirely on the…

As first appeared in Boxscore By Aron Solomon Nick Kyrgios, of the stars of the new Netflix tennis series, Break Point, is on the show for one reason: he is known as the bad boy of tennis. Last week in an Australian courtroom, Kyrgios was spared a conviction after pleading guilty to common assault during an argument with his then-girlfriend, Chiara Passari, which took place more than two years ago. The multiple delays in the trial were created by the Kyrgios legal team. Ultimately, following a Kyrgios guilty plea last week, the judge dismissed the charges, claiming that she was treating the 27-year-old…