by David Chapman
Staff Writer
For more than 12 years, the Association of Tennis Professionals has been a client of Smith Hulsey & Busey for legal services ranging from transactions and contracts to sponsorships and player discipline.
In 2007, though, a controversial match between heavy favorite Nikolay Davydenko and underdog Martin Vassallo Argüello — featuring large irregular online betting patterns in favor of Argüello, followed by Davydenko’s withdrawal — led to a match-fixing investigation.
Both players were later cleared of any wrongdoing, but after taking an image hit, the game’s governing bodies decided to implement uniform regulations in an effort to restore public trust.
Stephen Busey, chair of Smith Hulsey & Busey, was in London on other ATP business involving anti-doping proceedings when the rules conversation, literally, was taking place in the next room.
It was at that time when Mark Young, current CEO of ATP, Americas, and former Smith Hulsey & Busey attorney, pitched the firm’s ATP work to the governing bodies and recommended it lead the way in crafting the new rules. The other option was likely an international firm that focused on sports law.
The game’s four governing bodies — the ATP, International Tennis Federation, Women’s Tennis Association and Grand Slam Committee — agreed and Busey led the way, with assistance from firm members John MacLennan and Christopher Dix. Together, the group created the anti-corruption uniform rules, procedures, penalties and investigative processes to be applied to tennis.
“For an independent Jacksonville firm to oversee such a high-profile international effort is significant,” said Young, in a prior release.
Though the sport has four different governing bodies, Busey said there were no complaints or objections to uniformity.
“They knew they needed to do it,” said Busey.
Six to eight months and several drafts later, the 14-page “Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program” was finalized and implemented by all of professional tennis and enforced on players, related persons and tournament support personnel.
Penalties for players who gamble include up to a $250,000 fine, plus winnings associated with the wager in addition to potential ineligibility for up to three years. For players who take it a step further and act in a way that affects a match’s outcome, there is a potential for a lifetime ban.
Related persons and tournament officials who wager can lose credentials for up to a year and those involved with match fixing could face a lifetime ban.
While the project wasn’t extremely daunting for Busey and associates, the real change that it brought about was important.
“In terms of time and money, it wasn’t especially large,” said Busey, “but the impact was that four complied to the uniformity.”
Busey said he hasn’t had knowledge of any particular instances of gambling or match-fixing following the implementation of the rules and he will continue working with the association on future issues.
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