Jill E. Pilgrim, Esq.

Jill Pilgrim, Founder and President of The Center for the Protection of Athletes' Rights, Inc., a 501(c)(3) sports advocacy and education organization. She is also currently Acting Executive Director & General Counsel of the Track & Field Athletes Association (TFAA). Ms. Pilgrim is a former track and field athlete with longstanding involvement in Olympic and amateur sports, as an athlete, an attorney and business advisor. She led the legal department at USA Track & Field, Inc. (USATF), the Olympic governing federation, and at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Ms. Pilgrim designed and implemented professional golf’s first player drug testing program for the LPGA. Ms. Pilgrim serves on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions and is a hearing officer for the New York State Gaming Commission. As an educator on the sports industry, Ms. Pilgrim has taught sports law at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, the University of Miami School of Law, and the Columbia University School of Professional Studies & Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) Companion Masters in Sports Management & Masters in Sports Law Program. She has published numerous articles on sports legal topics, and lectures frequently. Ms. Pilgrim has appeared as a sports commentator on radio (BBC, NPR), television (CNN, Court TV, NBC) and podcasts (Bill Rhoden On Sports (BROSpod)). In 2018, she was selected by Columbia Law School as a Paul Robeson Honoree.

Sub-specialties: Law of Sport, Olympic Sport, Recreational Sport, High School Sport, College Sport, Olympic Sport, Sports Regulation, Sports Competition, Business of Sport, Sports Advocacy, Athletes, Coaches & Teams, International Sports, Contract Law (Sponsorship, Endorsement, Event, Licensing, Facility), Business Organizations and Good Governance, Charitable Organizations (Sports & Recreation)