Gordon I. Kirke (born 1945/1946) is a Canadian sports and entertainment lawyer, university professor, and commentator on radio and television.
Kirke is a graduate of the Osgoode Hall Law School, and has Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees. He has been legal counsel to the Toronto Blue Jays since 1976, and prepared the original documents which led to the team's foundation. He was involved in contract negotiations in the Eric Lindros trade, and later became a player agent representing 45 National Hockey League players. Kirke teaches law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and the Osgoode Hall Law School. He has published articles on law, and authored the 1997 Players First Report on sexual abuse and harassment in ice hockey. Kirke later became the first Canadian director of the Sports Lawyers Association of America, and served as its first Canadian president. He regularly appeared as a commentator on Off the Record with Michael Landsberg and on Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio with Bob McCown.
Early life
Kirke grew up in Toronto, wanting to become a cowboy. His father worked in a coin-operated machine business, and his mother was a stay-at-home wife. Kirke was proficient in martial arts, and played football and baseball while in high school. Playing baseball, he lost his first base position to Peter Mahovlich. Kirke was a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs as a youth.
Kirke graduated from the University of Toronto in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in literature and languages. Kirke earned a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1969, was called to the bar in Ontario in 1971, and earned a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1977. In 1985, he was called to the bar in Alberta and made a Canadian Queen's Counsel. Kirke was given an honorary Juris Doctor from the International Bar Association in 1992.
Legal career
1971 to 2000
Kirke began his legal career in 1971, as a litigation lawyer with Goodman & Goodman. He was introduced to sports and entertainment law, working under Herb Solway who had ties to the Labatt Brewing Company, which was active in 1977 Major League Baseball expansion discussions. Kirke prepared the original documents which led to the foundation of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1976. He remained as legal counsel and negotiated player contracts on behalf of the team. When he negotiated a contract for Doyle Alexander, the team refused to pay Alexander if he injured himself while hunting. Kirke worked out a compromise where Alexander would collect money while hurt, "only if he was following all hunting regulations and wearing an orange hunting jacket". Other notable contracts Kirke worked on include Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar, Carlos Delgado and Roger Clemens.
Kirke began a teaching career as a professor of sports law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1985, and has taught the Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws courses at the Osgoode Hall Law School since 1987. He has also been a guest lecturer at other schools in Canada and the United States, and has been published in journals and authored legal articles.
In 1991, Kirke became an advisor to Eric Lindros after Lindros was chosen first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Kirke was involved in negotiating the player's lucrative contract after the Eric Lindros trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. Kirke later stated about the incident that, "There were all kinds of allegations of Eric being anti-Quebec. But I knew it to be absolutely false. It had more to do with the management of the team".
Kirke was commissioned by the Canadian Hockey League to report on sexual abuse and harassment in 1997, and published his findings in the Players First Report. His research included interviews with teachers, social workers, psychiatrists, police, and prison inmates. Kirke stated, "I was surprised at how prevalent this is in society. And the second surprise is how little we know or want to know about it. It's a yucky subject". The report was later used as a guideline for conduct in minor ice hockey.
In the year 2000, Kirke was a managing partner in Sportsco International Corporation led by Pat Gillick, which submitted the highest bid in a court-supervised auction, to purchase the SkyDome where the Toronto Blue Jays played.