Joshua Gordon is an academic expert in sports business, sports law, governance, negotiation, and dispute resolution. He teaches courses in sports law, sports business, and negotiation while serving as the university’s faculty athletics representative. Gordon is internationally recognized for his expertise in resolving complex disputes in collegiate and professional sports, regularly working with governing bodies, leagues, and organizations to navigate high-stakes conflicts.
He serves as a sports arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where he presides over appellate cases on both the football and general lists in his second quadrennial. Additionally, he is an arbitrator for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and a salary arbitrator for Major League Baseball. As chair of the USATF SafeSport Appeals Panel, he oversees monthly hearings on background screening disputes and athlete eligibility matters.
As the founder of the Sports Conflict Institute, Gordon has advised leading sports organizations—including the intercollegiate programs, international teams and leagues, professional leagues, and Olympic programs—on governance, crisis management, high-performance culture, and dispute resolution. His work spans issues such as Title IX compliance, athlete rights, contract negotiations, and integrity in sport.
A frequent contributor to LawInSport (and editorial board member) and other industry-leading publications, Gordon has been featured as a sports law and governance expert in major media outlets, including Newsweek, CBC Radio, The Gazette, Courthouse News Service, Medium, Canvas Rebel Magazine, and The Coloradan. His insights on landmark legal decisions, governance challenges, and industry trends have made him a sought-after commentator and keynote speaker.
Gordon is the co-author of Strategic Negotiation: Building Organizational Excellence and The Sports Playbook: Building Teams That Outperform – Year After Year, both of which provide frameworks for effective leadership, conflict resolution, and negotiation in sports and business.
He holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, an M.A. in Dispute Resolution from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Brandeis University.
Recent Media:
The Sports Playbook: Are the Kansas City Chiefs a dynasty? (CBC Radio, Feb. 13, 2024)
Meet Joshua Gordon, JD, MA (Canvas Rebel Magazine, Jan. 8, 2024)
Workplace conflict resolution: How team leaders can create the right environment to resolve conflicts (Medium, Dec. 23, 2023)
Djokovic vaccine saga has global implications for sporting calendar 2022 (Newsweek, Jan. 17, 2022)
U.S. Supreme Court’s Alston ruling ushers ‘new age’ of athletes’ rights, new challenges for Iowa athletics departments (The Gazette, June 21, 2021)
Could a self-sustaining budget keep Iowa men’s gymnastics alive? (The Gazette, April 4, 2021)
CSU athletic trainers say they left because of athletic department's 'negligent,' 'toxic' culture (The Coloradan, Dec. 17, 2020)
Women’s team settlement shows progress and complexity of legal battle (Courthouse News Service, Dec. 2, 2020)