Jeremi Duru
Board Member
Education and Experience
N. Jeremi Duru is a Professor of Law and Director of the Sport & Society Initiative at American University’s Washington College of Law. He is one of nation’s foremost sports law authorities and has authored or co-authored five books, including Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, which examines the NFL’s movement toward increased equity of opportunity for coaches and front office personnel.
Professor Duru is active in the national sports law community. Among other appointments, he serves on the Sports Lawyers Association’s Board of Directors, the National Sports Law Institute’s Board of Advisors, and the LawInSport Editorial Board. He has also served as a member of the NCAA’s Committees on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport, the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Anti-Doping Review Board and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Racial and Social Justice Expert Advisory Team. In addition, Professor Duru remains active in practice. He has represented sports industry professionals in employment matters involving the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball. He has also represented collegiate student-athletes – most notably in McAdoo v. University of North Carolina – serving as counsel to plaintiffs suing the university with respect to its nearly two decades-long academic fraud scandal.
Professor Duru has a particular interest in sport’s impact on society, with a principle focus on racial and gender dynamics. He has conducted research and delivered lectures on these topics throughout the United States as well as abroad, including as: a Fulbright Fellow at Faculdades Integradas Helio Alonso in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; a Parsons Visitor at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia; and a Visiting Professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, China.
Professor Duru received his undergraduate education at Brown University and then completed a joint-degree program at Harvard University, receiving a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
Professor Duru is a frequent media contributor and has provided commentary for numerous media outlets, including CNN, BBC, ESPN, NPR, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.