[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1832 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 1832

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in the professional 
                            boxing industry.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1832

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in the professional 
                            boxing industry.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Professional boxing differs from other major, 
        interstate professional sports industries in the United States 
        in that it operates without any private sector association, 
        league, or centralized industry organization to establish 
        uniform and appropriate business practices and ethical 
        standards. This has led to repeated occurrences of disreputable 
        and coercive business practices in the boxing industry, to the 
        detriment of professional boxers nationwide.
            (2) State officials are the proper regulators of 
        professional boxing events, and must protect the welfare of 
        professional boxers and serve the public interest by closely 
        supervising boxing activity in their jurisdiction. State boxing 
        commissions do not currently receive adequate information to 
        determine whether boxers competing in their jurisdiction are 
        being subjected to contract terms and business practices which 
        may violate State regulations, or are onerous and confiscatory.
            (3) Promoters who engage in illegal, coercive, or unethical 
        business practices can take advantage of the lack of equitable 
        business standards in the sport by holding boxing events in 
        States with weaker regulatory oversight.
            (4) The sanctioning organizations which have proliferated 
        in the boxing industry have not established credible and 
        objective criteria to rate professional boxers, and operate 
        with virtually no industry or public oversight. Their ratings 
        are susceptible to manipulation, have deprived boxers of fair 
        opportunities for advancement, and have undermined public 
        confidence in the integrity of the sport.
            (5) Open competition in the professional boxing industry 
        has been significantly interfered with by restrictive and 
        anticompetitive business practices of certain promoters and 
        sanctioning bodies, to the detriment of the athletes and the 
        ticket-buying public. Common practices of promoters and 
        sanctioning organizations represent restraints of interstate 
        trade in the United States.
            (6) It is necessary and appropriate to establish national 
        contracting reforms to protect professional boxers and prevent 
        exploitive business practices, and to require enhanced 
        financial disclosures to State athletic commissions to improve 
        the public oversight of the sport.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to protect the rights and welfare of professional 
        boxers on an interstate basis by preventing certain exploitive, 
        oppressive, and unethical business practices;
            (2) to assist State boxing commissions in their efforts to 
        provide more effective public oversight of the sport; and
            (3) to promote honorable competition in professional boxing 
        and enhance the overall integrity of the industry.

SEC. 4. PROTECTING BOXERS FROM EXPLOITATION.

    The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 9 through 15 as sections 17 
        through 23, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 8 the following new 
        sections:

``SEC. 9. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.

    ``Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of the Muhammad 
Ali Boxing Reform Act, the Association of Boxing Commissions shall 
develop and shall approve by a vote of no less than a majority of its 
member State boxing commissioners, guidelines for minimum contractual 
provisions that should be included in bout agreements and boxing 
contracts. It is the sense of the Congress that State boxing 
commissions should follow these ABC guidelines.

``SEC. 10. PROTECTION FROM COERCIVE CONTRACTS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--
            ``(1)(A) A contract provision shall be considered to be in 
        restraint of trade, contrary to public policy, and 
        unenforceable against any boxer to the extent that it--
                    ``(i) is a coercive provision described in 
                subparagraph (B) and is for a period greater than 12 
                months; or
                    ``(ii) is a coercive provision described in 
                subparagraph (B) and the other boxer under contract to 
                the promoter came under that contract pursuant to a 
                coercive provision described in subparagraph (B).
            ``(B) A coercive provision described in this subparagraph 
        is a contract provision that grants any rights between a boxer 
        and a promoter, or between promoters with respect to a boxer, 
        if the boxer is required to grant such rights, or a boxer's 
        promoter is required to grant such rights with respect to a 
        boxer to another promoter, as a condition precedent to the 
        boxer's participation in a professional boxing match against 
        another boxer who is under contract to the promoter.
            ``(2) This subsection shall only apply to contracts entered 
        into after the date of the enactment of the Muhammad Ali Boxing 
        Reform Act.
            ``(3) No subsequent contract provision extending any rights 
        or compensation covered in paragraph (1) shall be enforceable 
        against a boxer if the effective date of the contract 
        containing such provision is earlier than 3 months before the 
        expiration of the relevant time period set forth in paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(b) Promotional Rights Under Mandatory Bout Contracts.--No boxing 
service provider may require a boxer to grant any future promotional 
rights as a requirement of competing in a professional boxing match 
that is a mandatory bout under the rules of a sanctioning organization.

``SEC. 11. SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.

    ``(a) Objective Criteria.--Within 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, the Association of 
Boxing Commissions shall develop and shall approve by a vote of no less 
than a majority of its member State boxing commissioners, guidelines 
for objective and consistent written criteria for the ratings of 
professional boxers. It is the sense of the Congress that sanctioning 
bodies and State boxing commissions should follow these ABC guidelines.
    ``(b) Appeals Process.--A sanctioning organization shall not be 
entitled to receive any compensation, directly or indirectly, in 
connection with a boxing match, until it provides the boxers with 
notice that the sanctioning organization shall, within 7 days after 
receiving a request from a boxer questioning that organization's rating 
of the boxer--
            ``(1) provide to the boxer a written explanation of the 
        organization's criteria, its rating of the boxer, and the 
        rationale or basis for its rating (including a response to any 
        specific questions submitted by the boxer); and
            ``(2) submit a copy of its explanation to the Association 
        of Boxing Commissions.
    ``(c) Notification of Change in Rating.--A sanctioning organization 
shall not be entitled to receive any compensation, directly or 
indirectly, in connection with a boxing match, until, with respect to a 
change in the rating of a boxer previously rated by such organization 
in the top 10 boxers, the organization--
            ``(1) posts a copy, within 7 days of such change, on its 
        Internet website or home page, if any, including an explanation 
        of such change, for a period of not less than 30 days; and
            ``(2) provides a copy of the rating change and explanation 
        to an association to which at least a majority of the State 
        boxing commissions belong.
    ``(d) Public Disclosure.--
            ``(1) FTC filing.--A sanctioning organization shall not be 
        entitled to receive any compensation directly or indirectly in 
        connection with a boxing match unless, not later than January 
        31 of each year, it submits to the Federal Trade Commission and 
        to the ABC--
                    ``(A) a complete description of the organization's 
                ratings criteria, policies, and general sanctioning fee 
                schedule;
                    ``(B) the bylaws of the organization;
                    ``(C) the appeals procedure of the organization for 
                a boxer's rating; and
                    ``(D) a list and business address of the 
                organization's officials who vote on the ratings of 
                boxers.
            ``(2) Format; updates.--A sanctioning organization shall--
                    ``(A) provide the information required under 
                paragraph (1) in writing, and, for any document greater 
                than 2 pages in length, also in electronic form; and
                    ``(B) promptly notify the Federal Trade Commission 
                of any material change in the information submitted.
            ``(3) FTC to make information available to public.--The 
        Federal Trade Commission shall make information received under 
        this subsection available to the public. The Commission may 
        assess sanctioning organizations a fee to offset the costs it 
        incurs in processing the information and making it available to 
        the public.
            ``(4) Internet alternative.--In lieu of submitting the 
        information required by paragraph (1) to the Federal Trade 
        Commission, a sanctioning organization may provide the 
        information to the public by maintaining a website on the 
        Internet that--
                    ``(A) is readily accessible by the general public 
                using generally available search engines and does not 
                require a password or payment of a fee for full access 
                to all the information;
                    ``(B) contains all the information required to be 
                submitted to the Federal Trade Commission by paragraph 
                (1) in an easy to search and use format; and
                    ``(C) is updated whenever there is a material 
                change in the information.

``SEC. 12. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES TO STATE BOXING COMMISSIONS BY 
              SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.

    ``A sanctioning organization shall not be entitled to receive any 
compensation directly or indirectly in connection with a boxing match 
until it provides to the boxing commission responsible for regulating 
the match in a State a statement of--
            ``(1) all charges, fees, and costs the organization will 
        assess any boxer participating in that match;
            ``(2) all payments, benefits, complimentary benefits, and 
        fees the organization will receive for its affiliation with the 
        event, from the promoter, host of the event, and all other 
        sources; and
            ``(3) such additional information as the commission may 
        require.

``SEC. 13. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR PROMOTERS.

    ``(a) Disclosures to the Boxing Commissions.--A promoter shall not 
be entitled to receive any compensation directly or indirectly in 
connection with a boxing match until it provides to the boxing 
commission responsible for regulating the match in a State a statement 
of--
            ``(1) a copy of any agreement in writing to which the 
        promoter is a party with any boxer participating in the match;
            ``(2) a statement made under penalty of perjury that there 
        are no other agreements, written or oral, between the promoter 
        and the boxer with respect to that match; and
            ``(3)(A) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be 
        assessed by or through the promoter on the boxer pertaining to 
        the event, including any portion of the boxer's purse that the 
        promoter will receive, and training expenses;
            ``(B) all payments, gifts, or benefits the promoter is 
        providing to any sanctioning organization affiliated with the 
        event; and
            ``(C) any reduction in a boxer's purse contrary to a 
        previous agreement between the promoter and the boxer or a 
        purse bid held for the event.
    ``(b) Disclosures to the Boxer.--A promoter shall not be entitled 
to receive any compensation directly or indirectly in connection with a 
boxing match until it provides to the boxer it promotes--
            ``(1) the amounts of any compensation or consideration that 
        a promoter has contracted to receive from such match;
            ``(2) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed 
        by or through the promoter on the boxer pertaining to the 
        event, including any portion of the boxer's purse that the 
        promoter will receive, and training expenses; and
            ``(3) any reduction in a boxer's purse contrary to a 
        previous agreement between the promoter and the boxer or a 
        purse bid held for the event.
    ``(c) Information To Be Available to State Attorney General.--A 
promoter shall make information required to be disclosed under this 
section available to the chief law enforcement officer of the State in 
which the match is to be held upon request of such officer.

``SEC. 14. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR JUDGES AND REFEREES.

    ``A judge or referee shall not be entitled to receive any 
compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with a boxing match 
until it provides to the boxing commission responsible for regulating 
the match in a State a statement of all consideration, including 
reimbursement for expenses, that will be received from any source for 
participation in the match.

``SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY.

    ``(a) In General.--Neither a boxing commission or an Attorney 
General may disclose to the public any matter furnished by a promoter 
under section 13 except to the extent required in a legal, 
administrative, or judicial proceeding.
    ``(b) Effect of Contrary State Law.--If a State law governing a 
boxing commission requires that information that would be furnished by 
a promoter under section 13 shall be made public, then a promoter is 
not required to file such information with such State if the promoter 
files such information with the ABC.

``SEC. 16. JUDGES AND REFEREES.

    ``No person may arrange, promote, organize, produce, or fight in a 
professional boxing match unless all referees and judges participating 
in the match have been certified and approved by the boxing commission 
responsible for regulating the match in the State where the match is 
held.''.

SEC. 5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

    Section 17 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 
6308) (as redesignated by section 4 of this Act) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence by striking ``No member'' and 
        inserting ``(a) Regulatory Personnel.--No member''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Firewall Between Promoters and Managers.--
            ``(1) In general.--It is unlawful for--
                    ``(A) a promoter to have a direct or indirect 
                financial interest in the management of a boxer; or
                    ``(B) a manager--
                            ``(i) to have a direct or indirect 
                        financial interest in the promotion of a boxer; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) to be employed by or receive 
                        compensation or other benefits from a promoter, 
                        except for amounts received as consideration 
                        under the manager's contract with the boxer.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) does not prohibit a boxer from acting as his 
                own promoter or manager; and
                    ``(B) only applies to boxers participating in a 
                boxing match of 10 rounds or more.
    ``(c) Sanctioning Organizations.--
            ``(1) Prohibition on receipts.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (2), no officer or employee of a sanctioning 
        organization may receive any compensation, gift, or benefit, 
        directly or indirectly, from a promoter, boxer, or manager.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to--
                    ``(A) the receipt of payment by a promoter, boxer, 
                or manager of a sanctioning organization's published 
                fee for sanctioning a professional boxing match or 
                reasonable expenses in connection therewith if the 
                payment is reported to the responsible boxing 
                commission; or
                    ``(B) the receipt of a gift or benefit of de 
                minimis value.''.

SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.

    Subsection (b) of section 18 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act 
of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6309) (as redesignated by section 4 of this Act) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting a comma and ``other than 
        section 9(b), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 16,'' after ``this Act'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (3) and (4), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Violation of antiexploitation, sanctioning 
        organization, or disclosure provisions.--Any person who 
        knowingly violates any provision of section 9(b), 10, 11, 12, 
        13, 14, or 16 of this Act shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned 
        for not more than 1 year or fined not more than--
                    ``(A) $100,000; and
                    ``(B) if a violation occurs in connection with a 
                professional boxing match the gross revenues for which 
                exceed $2,000,000, an additional amount which bears the 
                same ratio to $100,000 as the amount of such revenues 
                compared to $2,000,000, or both.''; and
            (4) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph 2 of 
        this subsection) by striking ``section 9'' and inserting 
        ``section 17(a)''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Actions by States.--Whenever the chief law enforcement 
officer of any State has reason to believe that a person or 
organization is engaging in practices which violate any requirement of 
this Act, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on 
behalf of its residents in an appropriate district court of the United 
States--
            ``(1) to enjoin the holding of any professional boxing 
        match which the practice involves;
            ``(2) to enforce compliance with this Act;
            ``(3) to obtain the fines provided under subsection (b) or 
        appropriate restitution; or
            ``(4) to obtain such other relief as the court may deem 
        appropriate.
    ``(d) Private Right of Action.--Any boxer who suffers economic 
injury as a result of a violation of any provision of this Act may 
bring an action in the appropriate Federal or State court and recover 
the damages suffered, court costs, and reasonable attorneys fees and 
expenses.
    ``(e) Enforcement Against Federal Trade Commission, State Attorneys 
General, Etc.--Nothing in this Act authorizes the enforcement of--
            ``(1) any provision of this Act against the Federal Trade 
        Commission, the United States Attorney General, or the chief 
        legal officer of any State for acting or failing to act in an 
        official capacity;
            ``(2) subsection (d) of this section against a State or 
        political subdivision of a State, or any agency or 
        instrumentality thereof; or
            ``(3) section 10 against a boxer acting in his capacity as 
        a boxer.''.

SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 2(a) of the Professional Boxing Safety 
Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (10) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``, including the Virgin Islands.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) Effective date of the contract.--The term `effective 
        date of the contract' means the day upon which a boxer becomes 
        legally bound by the contract.
            ``(12) Boxing service provider.--The term `boxing service 
        provider' means a promoter, manager, sanctioning body, 
        licensee, or matchmaker.
            ``(13) Contract provision.--The term `contract provision' 
        means any legal obligation between a boxer and a boxing service 
        provider.
            ``(14) Sanctioning organization.--The term `sanctioning 
        organization' means an organization that sanctions professional 
        boxing matches in the United States--
                    ``(A) between boxers who are residents of different 
                States; or
                    ``(B) that are advertised, otherwise promoted, or 
                broadcast (including closed circuit television) in 
                interstate commerce.
            ``(15) Suspension.--The term `suspension' includes within 
        its meaning the revocation of a boxing license.''.
    (b) State Boxing Commission Procedures.--Section 7(a)(2) of the 
Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6306(a)(2)) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C) by striking ``or'';
            (2) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``documents.'' at the 
        end and inserting ``documents; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) unsportsmanlike conduct or other 
                inappropriate behavior inconsistent with generally 
                accepted methods of competition in a professional 
                boxing match.''.
    (c) Renewal Period for Identification Cards.--Section 6(b)(2) of 
the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6305(b)(2)) is 
amended by striking ``2 years.'' and inserting ``4 years.''.
    (d) Review of Suspensions.--Section 7(a)(3) of the Professional 
Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6306(a)(3)) is amended by striking 
``boxer'' and inserting ``boxer, licensee, manager, matchmaker, 
promoter, or other boxing service provider''.
    (e) Alternative Supervision.--Section 4 of the Professional Boxing 
Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6303) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``No person'' and inserting ``(a) No 
        person''; and
            (2) by inserting at the end thereof the following:
    ``(b) For the purpose of this Act, if no State commission is 
available to supervise a boxing match according to subsection (a), 
then--
            ``(1) the match may not be held unless it is supervised by 
        an association of boxing commissions to which at least a 
        majority of the States belong; and
            ``(2) any reporting or other requirement relating to a 
        supervising commission allowed under this section shall be 
        deemed to refer to the entity described in paragraph (1).''.
    (f) Health and Safety Disclosures.--Section 6 of the Professional 
Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6305) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Health and Safety Disclosures.--It is the sense of the 
Congress that a boxing commission should, upon issuing an 
identification card to a boxer under subsection (b)(1), make a health 
and safety disclosure to that boxer as that commission considers 
appropriate. The health and safety disclosure should include the health 
and safety risks associated with boxing, and, in particular, the risk 
and frequency of brain injury and the advisability that a boxer 
periodically undergo medical procedures designed to detect brain 
injury.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 8, 1999.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.