“Striking Out”: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 and Title II’s Impact on Professional Sports Employers

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) is a recently enacted law that prohibits employers and insurance companies from discriminating against people based upon their genetic information. Soon after the passage of GINA, many people praised the law, but the flaws of GINA have not been as widely talked about. This Recent Development addresses a major flaw in GINA, the lack of a “direct threat” exception such as there is in the Americans with Disabilities Act. GINA is discussed in the context of professional sports, where the imperfections in GINA are most evident.