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Michele ROBERTS
Former Executive Director at National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)
Michele A. Roberts is a trailblazing attorney whose career has left a profound mark on North American sports and legal circles. Born in the South Bronx in 1956, Michele Roberts earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
She began her legal journey as a public defender in Washington, D.C., quickly rising to chief of the trial division and establishing herself as one of the nation’s premier trial lawyers, with more than 150 jury trials to her name. Her reputation for courtroom excellence led to prominent roles at major law firms, including Akin Gump and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she specialized in complex civil and white-collar litigation.
Michele Roberts made history in 2014 when she became the first woman to serve as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and the first woman to lead a major professional sports union in North America. Her leadership was defined by her fierce advocacy for NBA players, negotiating landmark collective bargaining agreements that improved salaries, schedules, and health protocols, and guiding the union through unprecedented challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the creation of the NBA “bubble”. Michele Roberts also championed social justice, playing a pivotal role in the league’s response to racial injustice and helping elevate the voices of players on critical societal issues.
Beyond her union leadership, Michele Roberts is a respected educator, serving as an adjunct faculty member at Harvard Law School and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Her legacy is one of breaking barriers, advancing players’ rights, and setting new standards for leadership in sports and law.
Michele Roberts retired from the NBPA in January 2022, but her influence endures as a role model for women and minorities aspiring to leadership in sports and beyond.
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The combination of the best academic professors and renowned active experts in Law, Economics and Geopolitics in sports is the ideal formula for you to be in contact with professional and up-to-date reality.
The pedagogical skills of the lecturers of this program, together with their knowledge and professional profile, are key to their selection in this educational team. And they ensure you the best possible training.