Extreme Sports and Extreme Liability: The Effect of Waivers of Liability in Extreme Sports

Abstract

Athletes who participate in extreme sports know that by just participating in the sport, they are at a huge risk for injury. This risk for injury, however, should not include the negligent acts of the event’s sponsors and promoters. Before an athlete agrees to compete in an event, the athlete will generally sign a liability waiver that contains language absolving the sponsor from its own acts of negligence. These liability waivers in turn will bar an athlete from imposing liability on a sponsor for any injuries the athlete may sustain as a result of a sponsor’s negligence. The purpose of this article is to show why it is against public policy for sponsors of an extreme sports event to be allowed to contract away their own negligence. Athletes already assume the risks inherent in a sport, but they should not be expected to assume a risk above those inherent in the sport and suffer an injury that has been the result of a sponsor’s negligence. A sponsor, on the other hand, should not be responsible for an athlete’s injury that results from a risk inherent in the sport. This article addresses why a modification of liability waivers in extreme sports is necessary to protect the interests of both the athlete and the sponsor.