N. Jeremi Duru

Professor N. Jeremi Duru is among the nation’s foremost sports law authorities and has authored or co-authored five books in the space: Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL (Oxford University Press); Sports Law and Regulation: Cases and Materials (Aspen Publishing); Sports Law: Governance and Regulation (Wolters Kluwer); The Business of Sports Agents (U. of Penn Press); and Understanding Sports Law (Carolina Academic Press).  

Jeremi is deeply active in the national sports law community. Among other appointments, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Sports Lawyers Association and for the Fritz Pollard Alliance of coaches, scouts and executives of color in the National Football League, 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.


Jeremi 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. In addition, Jeremi 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. 

Jeremi is widely recognized for his excellence as both an advocate and a teacher.  He has received the National Bar Association’s Sports and Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Award as well as the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Washington College of Law (WCL) Award for Excellence in Teaching.  In addition, before joining the WCL faculty, while teaching at Temple Law School, Jeremi received Temple’s George P. Williams Outstanding Law Professor of the Year Award.

Jeremi 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.  Upon graduation, Jeremi served as a law clerk to the Honorable Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Jeremi is a frequent media contributor and has provided commentary for numerous media outlets, including CNN, BBC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox, ESPN, NPR, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Jeremi loves researching, writing, teaching, and speaking, but his favorite job is being a Dad to his three wonderful sons: Kanayo, Anikwe, and Nnaji.