‘One of a kind’ Lee Green Retires from HST Committee

Little did we know when Lee Green authored the legal article on First Amendment Rights in the first-ever issue of High School Today in September 2007 that it was going to be the first of 214 articles he would eventually write for the magazine. However, the thousands of faithful readers the past 15 years are certainly glad he did.

Unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end, and Green’s Title IX legal article in this issue is his last. After writing the legal article in the 120 issues of High School Today the past 15 years, he has announced his retirement from the HST Publications Committee.

The title of this column – Above and Beyond – very aptly describes Green’s contributions the past 15 years. It is our hope that we find a successor to serve on the committee, but a replacement will never be found. Lee’s knowledge and history of legal issues facing high school sports, along with his effective and easily understandable writing style, and his desire to help high school administrators effectively address those issues likely will not be matched.

Green kept readers of High School Today updated on key legal issues such as amateurism, concussions, disability, discrimination, labor standards, event security, hazing, religion, liability for injuries, sexual harassment, student speech rights, Title IX and transgender – among others.

And if you missed any of his articles in the seven other issues of the magazine each year, the January issue was a “keeper” with his comprehensive review of sports law issues the previous 12 months.

In addition to the 120 legal articles and 87 Legal Briefs, Green wrote several non-legal articles over the years. Topping those contributions was his Sports Venues piece on Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, and an It All Started Here article on Louis Zamperini, subject of the 2014 book and movie “Unbroken.”

Green, one of the leading sports law experts in the United States, was an attorney and professor at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, for 30 years before retiring in 2016. He taught sports law, constitutional law and business law at Baker.

Green, who received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School Law, began his association with the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) in the late 1980s when both organizations were located in Kansas City.

Green assisted with the development of four NIAAA Leadership Training Institute legal courses, and he regularly presented sports law seminars and workshops at the local, state and national levels, including the annual Sports Law Year in Review at the National Athletic Directors Conference.

In recognition of his contributions to these organizations, Green was honored with the NFHS Citation and the NIAAA Award of Merit – both in 2017.

Green is the author of three books on sports law – Covering All The Bases: The Athletic Administrator & Coach’s Guide to Sports Law & Risk Management; A Level Playing Field: The Athletic Administrator & Coach’s Guide to Title IX & Gender Equity in Sports; and Sexual Harassment In Schools & Athletic Programs: A Guide to Policy Development & Prevention. He is also the author of the sports law chapter in the textbook, The NIAAA Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration.

In addition to seminars and workshops for the NFHS and NIAAA, Green has been a presenter on behalf of other state high school associations, as well as the NAIA and NCAA, and he served as a sports law consultant to universities and schools districts across the country.

Green first began his teaching career at Baker in the fall of 1986. His contract was for one year, and in that one year, Green was able to decide between teaching or practicing law. He fell in love with teaching, and Baker – and the thousands of people involved with the NFHS and NIAAA with whom he has worked – are glad he chose this route.

Green’s favorite experiences at Baker were his travel interterms in which he took students to places of interest around the world. If it was a presidential inauguration year, Green took his students to Washington, D.C. Other trips included a trip to Cooperstown, New York, after which he wrote the HST article, a New York City trip and one overseas to London, Normandy and Paris.

During his 30 years at Baker, he was selected five times by the student body as the “Outstanding Professor” on campus. He also received the Distinguished Faculty Award and the Koepke Award for Distinguished Teaching. He also served 10 years as the university’s compliance officer for athletics.

Without a doubt one of the biggest fans of University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs, the HST Publications Committee meetings will never be quite the same. Truly, the NFHS and NIAAA organizations have been blessed to have Lee Green working with us the past 30 years. Take a bow, Lee, and thanks.

Brian Robinson Retires from HST Committee; Succeeded by Mike Carroll

Brian Robinson, another charter member of the High School Today Publications Committee, is stepping down after serving as the magazine’s sports medicine/athletic trainer consultant for 15 years.

Robinson worked with the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) throughout the year to formulate topics for the sports medicine column in each issue. In addition to writing about 10 articles over the years, Robinson contacted individuals to write articles and edited articles written by members of the NFHS SMAC.

Robinson was head athletic trainer at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois, from 1977 to 2014, and has been a major contributor to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) for many years.

During his 37 years at Glenbrook South, Robinson established an athletic training program that set a precedent for secondary school athletic training programs across the United States. He developed a concussion management program, a rehabilitation program for injured athletes and a database for tracking injuries and treatment plans.

With the NATA, Robinson’s efforts as chair of the Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee, along with his countless presentations, articles and television appearances, have advanced the role and recognition of the secondary school athletic trainer and vastly improved the health care for secondary school athletes.

In 2015, Robinson was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame at the ceremony in St. Louis. Induction into the NATA Hall of Fame is the highest honor an athletic trainer can receive, and Robinson was inducted for his significant, lasting contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided by athletic trainers and advance the profession.

Robinson has been an outstanding member of the HST Publications Committee and has provided great sports medicine coverage in the magazine. He will be greatly missed by fellow members of the HST Publication Committee.

Mike Carroll, athletic trainer and assistant athletic director for the Graham Independent School District in Graham, Texas, will be succeeding Robinson on the HST Publications Committee.

Carroll received his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1990 and his master’s from the University of Virginia in 1992. As a state licensed and nationally certified athletic trainer, he is in charge of all facets of athletic health care in Graham ISD.

Carroll is also active with the NATA and Southwest Athletic Trainers Association (SWATA). In 2021, he was inducted into the Texas State Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Honor, and in 2016, he was inducted into the SWATA Hall of Fame.