[106th Congress Public Law 210]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


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[DOCID: f:publ210.106]


[[Page 114 STAT. 321]]

Public Law 106-210
106th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in the professional 
         boxing industry. <<NOTE: May 26, 2000 -  [H.R. 1832]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in <<NOTE: Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform 
Act.>> Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6301 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6301 note.>> 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.

[[Page 114 STAT. 322]]

            (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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6301 note.>> 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 <<NOTE: 15 
        USC 6308-6313, 6301 note.>>  as sections 17 through 23, 
        respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 8 the following new sections:

``SEC. 9. <<NOTE: Deadline. Guidelines. 15 USC 6307a.>> CONTRACT 
            REQUIREMENTS.

    ``Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of the Muhammad Ali 
Boxing Reform Act, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) 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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307b.>> 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) <<NOTE: Applicability.>> 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

[[Page 114 STAT. 323]]

        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.
    ``(c) Protection from Coercive Contracts with Broadcasters.--
Subsection (a) of this section applies to any contract between a 
commercial broadcaster and a boxer, or granting any rights with respect 
to that boxer, involving a broadcast in or affecting interstate 
commerce, regardless of the broadcast medium. For the purpose of this 
subsection, any reference in subsection (a)(1)(B) to `promoter' shall be 
considered a reference to `commercial broadcaster'.

``SEC. 11. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307c.>> SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.

    ``(a) Objective <<NOTE: Deadline. Guidelines.>> 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) Federal trade commission 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;

[[Page 114 STAT. 324]]

                    ``(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) <<NOTE: Notification.>> promptly notify the 
                Federal Trade Commission of any material change in the 
                information submitted.
            ``(3) Federal trade commission 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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307d.>> 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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307e.>> 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

[[Page 114 STAT. 325]]

            ``(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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307f.>> 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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307g.>> 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. <<NOTE: 15 USC 6307h.>> 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--

[[Page 114 STAT. 326]]

            (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:

[[Page 114 STAT. 327]]

    ``(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 (9) by inserting after ``match.'' the 
        following: ``The term `promoter' does not include a hotel, 
        casino, resort, or other commercial establishment hosting or 
        sponsoring a professional boxing match unless--
                    ``(A) the hotel, casino, resort, or other commercial 
                establishment is primarily responsible for organizing, 
                promoting, and producing the match; and
                    ``(B) there is no other person primarily responsible 
                for organizing, promoting, and producing the match.'';
            (2) in paragraph (10) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``, including the Virgin Islands.''; and
            (3) 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.

[[Page 114 STAT. 328]]

            ``(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:

[[Page 114 STAT. 329]]

    ``(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.''.

    Approved May 26, 2000.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1832 (S. 305):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-449, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Commerce).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-83 accompanying S. 305 (Comm. on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 145 (1999):
                                    Nov. 8, considered and passed House.
                                                        Vol. 146 (2000):
                                    Apr. 7, considered and passed 
                                        Senate, amended.
                                    May 22, House concurred in Senate 
                                        amendments.

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