ELDON L. HAM

Eldon L. Ham is a frequent contributor to Chicago Sun-Times on matters of sports, law, and society, beginning March, 2023. He has been nationally quoted in such diverse venues as New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, CBS Chicago, New York Daily News, and ESPN.com.

How the NCAA began losing its grip on 'amateurism'

Chicago Sun-Times, March 7th, 2025

During Black History Month, remember stories of Black athletes who influenced America

Chicago Sun-Times, February 21st, 2025

Spring training is here. Cue the lawyers and accountants.

Chicago Sun-Times, February 14th, 2025

What's the future of the NFL's commitment to diversity?

Chicago Sun-Times, February 7th, 2025

When sports turn violent, it can lead to legal action

Chicago Sun-Times, December 27th, 2024

Heisman Trophy should once again require player 'integrity'

Chicago Sun-Times, November 30th, 2024

'Monkey trial' of 1925, brought to life in Goodman's 'Inherit the Wind,' echoes today's culture wars

Chicago Sun-Times, October 11th, 2024

How the old USFL emerged, and how Trump helped kill it

Chicago Sun-Times, September 14th, 2024

Peaceful protests and activism live up to Olympic ideals

Chicago Sun-Times, July 19th, 2024

Gambling on games skyrockets, and that's hazardous to athletes

Chicago Sun-Times, July 12th, 2024

What the great Willie Mays lived to see

Chicago Sun-Times, June 21st, 2024

Muhammad Ali's defeat of Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine was a knockout for the ages

Chicago Sun-Times, May 24th, 2024

NFL draft day: How teams legally collude to restrict draftees' rights and choices

Chicago Sun-Times, April 24th, 2024

As we descend into March Madness, a few words about the NCAA's slow demise

Chicago Sun-Times, March 16th, 2024

A Jewish Chicagoan named Abe Saperstein left an indelible mark on today's NBA

Chicago Sun-Times, February 23rd, 2024

An Apple commercial and 'Where's the beef?' helped transform the Super Bowl in 1984

Chicago Sun-Times, January 27th, 2024

Carnegie and Me: Refuting the culture war on American libraries

ABA Journal, January 25th, 2024

Sports history's biggest flubs and blunders

Chicago Sun-Times, December 30th, 2023

How baseball endured through World War II

Chicago Sun-Times, December 7th, 2023

The Michigan sign-stealing case shows Americans are fed up with cheating

Chicago Sun-Times, November 24th, 2023

Baseball broadcasting history includes Carlton Fisk and Chicago's very own WGN

Chicago Sun-Times, October 21st, 2023

Among baseball's greatest home runs, include one by Cubs' Dave Kingman

Chicago Sun-Times, October 7th, 2023

Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and the home run chase of 1998

Chicago Sun-Times, August 29th, 2023

Unnecessary Roughness: Sports Injuries and the Contact Sports Exception

Illinois State Bar Association, July 24th, 2023

Chicago's All-Star 'game of the century'

Chicago Sun-Times, June 26th, 2023

Fixing the Ja Morant problem

Chicago Sun-Times, June 17th, 2023

How William Wrigley Jr. brought soap, gum and Chicago baseball broadcasting together

Chicago Sun-Times, April 24th, 2023

Fair game: Does the fair use doctrine apply to Andy Warhol's pop art?

ABA Journal, January 9th, 2020

Athlete Free Speech—It's Not The Standing, Stupid

CBS Chicago, October 4th, 2017

Fenwick, Justice, Logic All Lose

CBS Chicago, November 23rd, 2016

Can baseball help break impasse on Judge Garland?

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, April 15th, 2016

How 4th Circ. Failed To Clarify Athlete Disability Rights

Law 360, January 3rd, 2016

Why The NFL Needs To Lose The Roger Goodell-Tom Brady Standoff

CBS Chicago, August 19th, 2015

Pitchers, Catchers, and Lawyers Report: Have the Little Leagues Made It to the Big Leagues?

Political Mavens, March 9th, 2015

The Patriots' Tangled Web Of Innocence, Lies And Cover-Ups

CBS Chicago, January 28th, 2015

Pro athletes should speak out on controversial issues

SunSentinel, January 12th, 2015

NFL and Undue Process

CBS Chicago, September 17th, 2014

Why Roger Goodell Should Resign

CBS Chicago, September 12th, 2014

Pretext: The Dark Side of Baseball

Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, May 19th, 2014

Is Don Sterling A Canary In The NBA Gold Mine?

CBS Chicago, April 29th, 2014

How A-Rod Could Be Guilty And Still Win

CBS Chicago, February 5th, 2014

Sosa-McGwire: The Shock & Awe Summer Of 1998

CBS Chicago, June 26th, 2013

How The Great Baseball Oxymoron Undermines America

CBS Chicago, June 19th, 2012

Give the Ref a Gavel

New York Times, March 7th, 2012

Muhammad And Me

CBS Chicago, January 17th, 2012

'Death' to Penn State football?

The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 16th, 2011

Sandusky Said 'Way, Way Too Much'

CBS Chicago, November 15th, 2011

Feds Could Get Involved With Penn State

CBS Chicago, November 9th, 2011

Have The NBA Players Met The Real Enemy?

CBS Chicago, November 9th, 2011

Celebrating 90 Years of [World Series] Radio Broadcasts

St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 19th, 2011

Broadcast 90 Years Ago was First to Help Listeners 'See' [World] Series

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, October 17th, 2011

The Scarlet Number—How the Maris Home Run Record Could Help Expunge the Steroid Era

CBS Chicago, September 21st, 2011

King James: The Next Michael Jordan?

Political Mavens, October 20th, 2010

How to infuse hope in the Big Dance

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, March 29th, 2010

Hardball Free Agency—The Unintended Demise of Salary Arbitration in Major League Baseball: How the Law of Unintended Consequences Crippled the Salary Arbitration Remedy—and How to Fix It

Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, January 1st, 2010

A Few Ways To Deal With The Square Pegs Of Academia

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, June 15th, 2009

All-Star Boondoggle

Political Mavens, July 16th, 2008

Must Violence Among Athletes Be A Crime That Pays?

Illinois State Bar Association, January 1st, 2008

The Mitchell Report

Political Mavens, December 19th, 2007

The NFL Slob Rule

Political Mavens, November 15th, 2007

An Indisputable Need For Replay

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, October 22nd, 2007

Crafting A Symbolic Nod To Pre-Steroid Era

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, July 30th, 2007

Stern Rules: How to Fix the Suns-Spurs Dilemma

Political Mavens, May 18th, 2007

Jackie Robinson Did Not Change Baseball?

Political Mavens, April 9th, 2007

The Hypocrisy of Cooperstown: Why Does it Matter?

Political Mavens, October 16th, 2006

The True Meaning Behind Ozzie-gate

Chicago Tribune, February 14th, 2006

Beyond Baseball's Mischief

Baltimore Sun, March 17th, 2005

Baseball Trespassers

Chicago Tribune, April 26th, 2003

The True Precedent of Baseball in Law

Marquette Sports Law Review, January 1st, 2003

Who's Not on First? 3 Steps to Save Baseball

Cincinnati Enquirer, July 28th, 2002

State Ought to Outlaw Athletes Who Are Thugs

Pioneer Press, January 4th, 2001

A Baseball Lands Where it Will—But Who Owns It?

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, September 18th, 1998

Disabled Athletes: A Last Vestige of Court Tolerated Discrimination?

Seton Hall Journal of Sports Law, January 1st, 1998

The Race Card is a Joker: A Final Spin on the Sprewell Lesson

Chicago Tribune, December 30th, 1997

Olympic Dilemma: The Harding Controversy

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 1st, 1994

Steroids: Wrestling With the Issues

Trial Magazine, August 1st, 1993

Richard Dent v. NFL: Private Associations and Fundamental Fairness

Illinois State Bar Association, April 1st, 1989