Gordon Kirke

Biography

Gordon I. Kirke, Q.C., LL.B. (Osgoode) 1969, LL.M. (Osgoode) 1977, D.Juris (Hon.) 1992, was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1971. Mr. Kirke has been a Special Lecturer in the Sports Law course at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto since 1985. He has also taught entertainment and sports law for both the LL.M. and LL.B. programs at Osgoode Hall Law School. Mr. Kirke is the first Canadian director and later the first Canadian President of The Sports Lawyers Association of America and was on the boards of Grey Cup ’07, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (Canada’s anti-doping agency for athletes), Tennis Canada, Stop the Violence, Special Olympics, Children’s Aid Foundation, Canadian Prostate Cancer Foundation, Scarborough Hospital Foundation and many other charitable and sports-related organizations. He has thrice been named by The Globe and Mail as one of the twenty-five most important persons in Sports. Canadian Lawyer Magazine called him “Canada’s Sports Lawyer Extraordinaire” in a cover article and he is listed by Lexpert as one of Canada’s Best Lawyers. He frequently appears on radio and television shows to discuss sports and entertainment law and business matters. In the sports industry, he has represented athletes, leagues, teams, unions, sponsors, officials and executives. He was counsel in the Senator George Mitchell Investigation into Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Baseball, represented the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club in the recruitment of a new president and went to Kandahar, Afghanistan, with Team Canada hockey players to entertain Canadian soldiers stationed there. He writes and lectures extensively with respect to sports and entertainment business matters. Gordon I. Kirke, Q.C., LL.B. (Osgoode) 1969, LL.M. (Osgoode) 1977, D.Juris (Hon.) 1992, was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1971. Mr. Kirke has been a Special Lecturer in the Sports Law course at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto since 1985. He has also taught entertainment and sports law for both the LL.M. and LL.B. programs at Osgoode Hall Law School. Mr. Kirke is the first Canadian director and later the first Canadian President of The Sports Lawyers Association of America and was on the boards of Grey Cup ’07, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (Canada’s anti-doping agency for athletes), Tennis Canada, Stop the Violence, Special Olympics, Children’s Aid Foundation, Canadian Prostate Cancer Foundation, Scarborough Hospital Foundation and many other charitable and sports-related organizations. He has thrice been named by The Globe and Mail as one of the twenty-five most important persons in Sports. Canadian Lawyer Magazine called him “Canada’s Sports Lawyer Extraordinaire” in a cover article and he is listed by Lexpert as one of Canada’s Best Lawyers. He frequently appears on radio and television shows to discuss sports and entertainment law and business matters. In the sports industry, he has represented athletes, leagues, teams, unions, sponsors, officials and executives. He was counsel in the Senator George Mitchell Investigation into Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Baseball, represented the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club in the recruitment of a new president and went to Kandahar, Afghanistan, with Team Canada hockey players to entertain Canadian soldiers stationed there. He writes and lectures extensively with respect to sports and entertainment business matters.

Research Interest

Canadian Constitutional Law Charter of Rights Comparative Constitutional Law Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law Law and Religion