This paper will discuss the issue of HIV/AIDS in contact sports. The focus of this paper will be on whether mandatory testing of athletes in these sports is justified by the danger posed by athletes infected with HIV and whether the law as it now stands would allow such mandatory testing. The first part of the paper will discuss the factual issue of the danger of HIV in sports. This discussion will focus upon the differing threats of spreading HIV in various sports. Of particular interest are contact sports, such as football and boxing, and theoretically non-contact sports, such as basketball, in which contact is inevitable. The second part of the paper will examine the state of the law in this area. This part will focus upon employment law, since this area of the law most affects the relationship between professional athletes and their teams. This discussion will look at the implications of mandatory testing upon issues of privacy and confidentiality, state law provisions, and the American with Disabilities Act.
Because of the number of legal issues involved in this area, this paper will focus solely upon professional sports and athletes. Some of the issues, such as the right of privacy and confidentiality, are also present in amateur and scholastic sports. However, professional sports also involve the very important area of employment law. Currently, the issue of mandatory testing for HIV is being most vigorously contested in the employment arena. The development of employment law will therefore have a significant effect on the issue of HIV testing in sports.
The Threat of HIV/AIDS in Contact Sports
This has been a "hot" topic for several years, ever since Ervin "Magic" Johnson announced that he was retiring from professional basketball because he found that he was infected with HIV in 1991. Johnson admitted that his sexually promiscuous lifestyle had apparently led to his infection. He was publicly hailed as...