ATHLETES.ORG, INC. MEMBER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Last Updated: November 3, 2023

Athletes.org, Inc. (“Athletes.org”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) supports its members through its mission to provide education and support to professional, college and high school athletes. The following terms and conditions govern the Athletes.org (i) website located at http://athletes.org (or any successor links) and all associated web pages, websites, and social media pages (the “Site”) provided by Athletes.org and its subsidiaries and affiliates, (ii) mobile application, (iii) online services (including the Site, the “Services”), and (iv) Membership and the benefits available. These member terms and conditions (“Member Terms & Conditions,” or “Agreement”) are made between Athletes.org, an Alabama nonprofit corporation and users of the Services (“Member”, “You”, or “Your”).

Athletes.org may indicate that different or additional terms, conditions, guidelines, policies, or rules apply in relation to some of our Services (“Supplemental Terms”). Any Supplemental Terms become part of your agreement with us if you use the applicable Services.

We may make changes to these Terms. The “Last Updated” date above indicates when these Terms were last changed. If we make future changes, we may provide you with notice of such changes, such as by sending an email, providing a notice through our Services, or updating the date at the top of these Terms. Unless we say otherwise in our notice, the amended Terms will be effective immediately, and your continued use of our Services after we provide such notice will confirm your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the amended Terms, you must immediately stop using our Services.

ELIGIBILITY AND USE RESTRICTIONS: You may only use our Services in jurisdictions authorized by Athletes.org. Our Services and content may not be available in all territories and jurisdictions, and we may restrict or prohibit use of all or a portion of our Services in content in certain jurisdictions and territories.
1. Age. Users under 16 years of age may only use our Services under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. The parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 16 is fully responsible for the acts or omissions of such user in relation to our Services. If you are a parent or legal guardian and you believe that your child under the age of 16 is using our Services without your consent, please contact us at admin@athletes.org.
USER CONTENT: Our Services may allow you and other users to create, post, store, share and interact with content, including, but not limited to, reviews, messages, text, images, photos, videos, and other information and materials (collectively, “User Content”). When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information may be visible to others. If you choose to make any of your information publicly available through the Services, you do so at your own risk.
1. Except for the license you grant below, as between you and Athletes.org, you retain all rights in and to your User Content, excluding any portion of the Services included in your User Content. You grant Athletes.org and its subsidiaries and affiliates a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide, fully paid, and sublicensable (through multiple tiers) license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, store, distribute, publicly or otherwise perform and display, and exploit your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you or any third party. You hereby irrevocably waive any “moral rights” or other rights with respect to attribution of authorship or integrity of materials regarding User Content that you may have under any applicable law or under any legal theory.
2. You may not create, post, store, or share any User Content for which you do not have all the rights necessary to grant us the license described above, and you represent and warrant that your User Content, and our use of such User Content as permitted by these Terms, will not violate any rights of any person or entity, including any third-party rights, or cause injury to any person or entity. You may not create, post, store, or share any User Content that:
  1. Is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, suggestive, harassing, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory, or fraudulent;
  2. Would constitute, encourage, or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party or otherwise create liability, or violate any local, state, national, or international law;
  3. May infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual or proprietary right of any party;
  4. Contains or depicts any statements, remarks, or claims that do not reflect your honest views and experiences;
  5. Impersonates, or misrepresents your affiliation with, any person or entity;
  6. Contains any unsolicited promotions, political campaigning, advertising, or solicitations;
  7. Contains any private or personal information of a third party without such third party’s consent;
  8. Contains any viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files or content; or
  9. In our sole judgment, is objectionable, restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying our Services, or may expose Athletes.org or others to any harm or liability of any type.
3. Enforcement of this Section 2 is solely at Athletes.org’s discretion, and failure to enforce this section in some instances does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce it in other instances. This Section 2 does not create any private right of action on the part of any third party or any reasonable expectation that the Services will not contain any content that is prohibited by these Terms or that objectionable material will be promptly removed after it has been posted.
4. We do not undertake to review all User Content, and we expressly disclaim any duty or obligation to undertake any monitoring or review of any User Content. Although we have no obligation to screen, edit, or monitor User Content, we may:
  1. delete or remove User Content or refuse to post any User Content at any time and for any reason with or without notice, including without limitation for any violations of applicable law or these Terms;
  2. terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Services if your User Content is reasonably likely, in our sole determination, to violate applicable law or these Terms;
  3. take any action with respect to your User Content that is necessary or appropriate, in Athletes.org’s sole discretion, to ensure compliance with applicable law and these Terms or to protect any third-party rights, including third-party intellectual property and privacy
PROHIBITED CONTENT: You will not use our Services if you are not eligible to use our Services in accordance with Section 2 and will not use our Services other than for their intended purpose. Further, you will not, in connection with our Services:
1. Violate any applicable law, contract, intellectual property right, or other third-party right or commit a tort;
2. Engage in any harassing, threatening, intimidating, predatory, or stalking conduct;
3. Use or attempt to use another user’s information without authorization from that user and Athletes.org;
4. Impersonate or post on behalf of any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
5. Sell or resell our Services;
6. Copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, or publicly display all or portions of our Services, except as expressly permitted by us or our licensors;
7. Modify our Services, remove any proprietary rights notices or markings, or otherwise make any derivative works based upon our Services;
8. Use our Services in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect, or inhibit other users from fully enjoying our Services or that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the functioning of our Services in any manner;
9. Reverse engineer any aspect of our Services or do anything that might discover source code, or bypass or circumvent measures employed to prevent or limit access to any part of our Services;
10. Use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods designed to scrape or extract data from our Services except in accordance with instructions contained in our robot.txt file and only to compile for search results, provided that Athletes.org grants to the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy materials from the Site for the sole purpose of (and solely to the extent necessary for) creating publicly available, searchable indices of such materials, but not caches or archives of such materials. Athletes.org reserves the right to revoke such permission either generally or in specific cases, at any time and without notice;
11. Develop or use any applications that interact with our Services without our prior written consent;
12. Send, distribute, or post spam, unsolicited or bulk commercial electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes;
13. Link to any online portion of the Services in a manner that damages or exploits, in our sole discretion, our reputation or suggests any form or association, approval, or endorsement by the Athletes.org; or
14. Use our Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose, or engage in, encourage, or promote any activity that violates these Terms.
  Enforcement of this Section 3 is solely at Athlete.org’s discretion, and failure to enforce this section in some instances does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce it in other instances.
OWNERSHIP/LICENSE: Unless otherwise noted, all materials shared through the Athletes.org membership and on the Athletes.org website, including the text, graphics, images, photographs, videos, audio, user interface, illustrations, and other content contained therein, and all intellectual property rights therein and thereto, (“Athletes.org Content”) are the copyrighted property of Athletes.org or our licensors and are subject to all applicable copyright protection. Athletes.org is available to Members for personal and non-commercial use. Subject to your compliance with these Terms (including Section 2 and 3), during the term of this Agreement, Athletes.org grants you a royalty-free, revocable, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-sublicensable, and non-transferable limited license to access and use our Services for your Permitted Use and to use the trademarked Athletes.org name, designs, service names, slogans, logo, and look and feel of the Services are (collectively “Athletes.org Marks”) for the limited purpose of conveying notice of Athletes.org membership. You agree that the Athletes.org Marks must not be copied, imitated, used, in whole or in part, or otherwise without the prior written consent of Athletes.org. You will use the Athletes.org Marks in accordance with such reasonable guidelines as provided in writing by Athletes.org. You agree to cooperate in facilitating the monitoring and control of the use of Athletes.org Marks. Nothing in this Agreement, or in your use of Athletes.org Marks, gives you any right in the Athletes.org Marks beyond the rights granted in this Agreement. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, and company names or logos mentioned on or in connection with the Services are the property of their respective owners. Reference to any products, services, processes, or other information by trade name, Athletes.org Marks, manufacturer, supplier, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by us. Athletes.org Marks may not be used in any way as to represent an endorsement or certification by Athletes.org of any product or service offered by a Member.. Upon membership termination, you must discontinue all use of Athletes.org Marks. Athletes.org has the right to terminate, suspend or withdraw your license at any time. Unauthorized use of the Athletes.org Marks or any other such trademarks, including reproduction, imitation, dilution or confusing or misleading uses, is prohibited under the trademark laws of the United States and other countries. You are expressly prohibited from using or misusing any Athletes.org Marks, except as expressly provided in these Terms, and nothing otherwise stated or implied in the Services confers on you any license or right to do so.
Any use of the Services other than as specifically authorized herein, without our prior written permission, is strictly prohibited and will terminate the license granted herein and violate our intellectual property rights. Except as expressly provided in these Terms, you are prohibited from copying, reproducing, modifying, distributing, displaying, performing or transmitting any of the contents of the Services for any purposes, and nothing otherwise stated or implied in the Services confers on you any license or right to do so.
FEEDBACK: You may voluntarily post, submit, or otherwise communicate to us any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, original or creative materials, or other information about Athletes.org or our Services (collectively, “Feedback”). You understand that we may use such Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you, including to develop, copy, publish, or improve the Feedback, or Services, in Athletes.org sole discretion. Athletes.org will exclusively own all improvements to, or new, Athletes.org, services, or Services based on any Feedback. You understand that Athletes.org may treat Feedback as nonconfidential.
THIRD-PARTY CONTENT: Our Services rely on or interoperate with third-party products, software, hardware, technology, data, platforms, and services, including, without limitation, data storage services, communications technologies, IoT platforms, third-party app stores, and internet and mobile operators (collectively, “Third-Party Materials”). These Third-Party Materials are beyond our control, but their operation may impact, or be impacted by, the use and reliability of our Services. You acknowledge that (a) the use and availability of the Services is dependent on third-party product vendors and service providers and (b) these Third-Party Materials may not operate reliably 100% of the time, which may impact the way that our Services operate.
1. Specifically, certain items of independent, third-party code may be utilized in connection with the Services that may be subject to open-source licenses (“Open-Source Software”). The Open-Source Software is licensed to us under the terms of the license that accompanies such Open-Source Software and may be licensed to you under the terms of the same license or through other terms. Nothing in the Terms limits your rights under, or grants you rights that supersede, the terms and conditions of any applicable license for such Open-Source Software.
2. We may further provide information about or links to third-party products, services, activities, or events, or we may allow third parties to make their content and information available on or through the Services (collectively, “Third-Party Content”). We provide Third-Party Content as a service to those interested in such content. Your dealings or correspondence with third parties and your use of or interaction with any Third-Party Content are solely between you and the third party.
3. We have no obligation to monitor Third-Party Materials or Third-Party Content, and we may block or disable access to any Third-Party Materials or Third-Party Content (in whole or part) through our Services at any time. Your access to and use of such Third-Party Content or Third-Party Materials may be subject to additional terms, conditions, and policies applicable to such Third-Party Content (including terms of service or privacy policies of the providers of such Third-Party Materials). You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining any computer hardware, equipment, network services and connectivity, telecommunications services, and other products and services necessary to access and use the Services.
CONFIDENTIALITY: Certain Athletes.org Content may be marked or indicated “Confidential” or “Proprietary.” In that event, you agree not to use or disclose to any non-member, and agree to maintain the confidentiality of such content, unless compelled to disclose by judicial or administrative process or, in the opinion of counsel, by other requirements of law.
WARRANTIES: Your use of our Services and any content or materials provided therein or therewith (including the Third-Party Content and Third-Party Materials) is at your sole risk. Except as otherwise provided in a writing by us and to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, our Services, and any content or materials provided therein or therewith (including the Third-Party Content and Third-Party Materials), and all membership benefits and services available to Members are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Without limiting the above, no warranty or guaranty is given regarding the completeness, accuracy, reliability or quality of any information, content, data, service, advice, or product provided or available to, through Athletes.org membership (including the Third-Party content and Third-Party Materials). Athletes.org will not be liable for any delay or failure of performance but will use reasonable efforts to correct any material performance brought to its attention. While Athletes.org attempts to make your use of our Services and any content provided therein or therewith (including the Third-Party Content and Third-Party Materials) safe, we cannot and do not represent or warrant that our Services or any content provided therein or therewith (including the Third-Party Content and Third-Party Materials) or our servers are free of viruses or other harmful components or content or materials. You assume the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Services and any content provided therein or therewith (including the Third-Party Content and Third-Party Materials). All disclaimers of any kind (including in this section and elsewhere in these Terms) are made for the benefit of Athletes.org, Athletes.org Parties, and Athletes.org respective board members, officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, representatives, licensors, suppliers, and service providers, as well as their respective successors and assigns.
INDEMNIFICATION: You will indemnify, defend and hold harmless Athletes.org and our subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of our respective officers, directors, employees and agents (individually and collectively, the “Athlete.org Parties”) from and against any and all losses, damages, claims, demands, debts, liabilities, costs, and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) (collectively “Losses”) arising out of or related to (a) your access to or use of the Services; (b) your User Content or Feedback; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation, misappropriation, or infringement of any rights of another (including intellectual property rights or privacy rights); (e) your conduct in connection with the Services.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Athletes.org and the other Athletes.org Parties will not be liable to you under any theory of liability—whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, warranty, or otherwise—for any indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, special or exemplary damages or lost profits (even if Athletes.org, the other Athletes.org Parties, or you has been advised of the possibility of such damages), arising from any provision of this Agreement. The limitations set forth in this Section 10 will not limit or exclude liability for the gross negligence, fraud, or intentional misconduct of Athletes.org or the other Athletes.org Parties or for any other matters in which liability cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Additionally, some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.
Publicity: When you become a Member of Athletes.org, in consideration of the Services provided to You, You grant to Athletes.org the non-exclusive right and authority to use, subject to Your approval in each instance, Your name, nickname, initials, likeness, image, picture, photograph, animation, persona, autograph/signature, voice, biographical information and/or any and all other identifying characteristics (collectively “Publicity Rights”) for any and all uses or purposes that publicize and promote Athletes.org in any way in any and all media or formats, whether analog, digital or other, now known or hereafter developed, including, but not limited to, print, tape, disc, computer file, radio, television, motion pictures, other audio visual and audio works, internet, broadband platforms, mobile platforms, applications, and other distribution platforms.
RELEASE: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release Athletes.org and the other Athletes.org Parties from responsibility, liability, claims, demands, and/or damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown (including claims of negligence), arising out of or related to disputes between users and the acts or omissions of third parties. If you are a consumer who resides in California, you hereby waive your rights under California Civil Code § 1542, which provides: “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”
NOTICES: All notices and communications required by this Agreement must be in writing and sent by e-mail to admin@athletes.org, hand delivered with a signed receipt, or mailed by registered or certified U.S. mail, return receipt requested addressed as follows: Athletes.org, Inc., 3187 Overton Cove, Birmingham, AL 35223.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION; BINDING ARBITRATION: PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES YOU AND ATHLETES.ORG TO ARBITRATE CERTAIN DISPUTES AND CLAIMS AND LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH WE CAN SEEK RELIEF FROM EACH OTHER. ARBITRATION PRECLUDES YOU AND ATHLETES.ORG FROM SUING IN COURT OR HAVING A JURY TRIAL. YOU AND ATHLETES.ORG AGREE THAT ARBITRATION WILL BE SOLELY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A CLASS ARBITRATION, CLASS ACTION, OR ANY OTHER KIND OF REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. ATHLETES.ORG AND YOU ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY A JURY.
1. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW IF YOU WISH TO OPT OUT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. NO CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS OR ARBITRATIONS ARE ALLOWED UNDER THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT.
2. For any dispute or claim that you have against Athletes.org, that Athletes.org has against you or that you have, or Athletes.org has, in each case arising from, relating to, or stemming from these Terms, our Services, or any aspect of the relationship between you and Athletes.org as relates to these Terms, our Services, including any privacy or data security claims, (collectively, “Claims”, and each a “Claim”), you and Athletes.org agree to attempt to first resolve the Claim informally via the following process. If you assert a Claim against Athletes.org, you will first contact Athletes.org by sending a written notice of your Claim (“Claimant Notice”) to Athletes.org by certified mail addressed to Athletes.org, Inc., 3187 Overton Cove, Birmingham, AL 35223 or by email to admin@athletes.org. The Claimant Notice must (i) include your name, residence address, email address, and telephone number; (ii) describe the nature and basis of the Claim; and (iii) set forth the specific relief sought. If Athletes.org asserts a Claim against you, Athletes.org will first contact you by sending a written notice of Athletes.org’s Claim (“Athletes.org Notice”), and each of a Claimant Notice and Athletes.org Notice, a (“Notice”) to you via email to the primary email address associated with your account. The Athletes.org Notice must (i) include the name of a Athletes.org contact and the contact’s email address and telephone number; (ii) describe the nature and basis of the Claim; and (iii) set forth the specific relief sought. If you and Athletes.org cannot reach an agreement to resolve the Claim within thirty (30) days after you or Athletes.org receives such a Notice, then either party may submit the Claim to binding arbitration as set forth below. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled for thirty (30) days from the date that either you or Athletes.org first send the applicable Notice so that the parties can engage in this informal dispute-resolution process.
3. Except for individual disputes that qualify for small claims court and any disputes exclusively related to the intellectual property or intellectual property rights of you or Athletes.org, including any disputes in which you or Athletes.org seek injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of your or Athletes.org’s intellectual property or other infringement of your or Athletes.org’s intellectual property rights (“IP Claims”), all Claims, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory, including Claims that are not related to intellectual property or intellectual property rights but are jointly filed with IP Claims, that are not resolved in accordance with Section 13(a) will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator through final and binding arbitration instead of in a court by a judge or jury. Such Claims include, without limitation, disputes arising out of or relating to interpretation or application of this arbitration provision, including the enforceability, revocability, or validity of the arbitration provision or any portion of the arbitration provision. The arbitrator will have the authority to grant any remedy or relief that would otherwise be available in court.
4. These Terms affect interstate commerce, and the enforceability of this Section 13 will be substantively and procedurally governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq., to the extent permitted by law.
5. All Claims must be submitted to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and will be resolved through binding arbitration before one arbitrator. If you are a consumer, the then-current version of the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules will apply, which are available on the AAA’s website (adr.org), as amended by these Terms as follows:
6. YOU AND ATHLETES.ORG AGREE THAT ANY ARBITRATION UNDER THESE TERMS WILL TAKE PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS; CLASS ARBITRATIONS AND CLASS ACTIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED, AND YOU AND ATHLETES.ORG ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP THE ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. As limited by the FAA, this Agreement, and the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules, the arbitrator will have exclusive authority to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding any dispute and to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court, including the power to determine the question of arbitrability. The arbitrator may conduct only an individual arbitration and, except as described below for the additional procedures to govern if twenty-five (25) or more similar or coordinated claims are asserted against Athletes.org or you by the same or coordinated counsel, may not consolidate more than one individual’s claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding, or preside over any proceeding involving more than one individual.
7. For any arbitration you initiate, you will pay the consumer filing fee, and Athletes.org will pay the remaining AAA fees and costs. For any arbitration initiated by Athletes.org, Athletes.org will pay all AAA fees and costs.
8. For all arbitrations where the claims asserted are $25,000 or less, the arbitration shall be resolved according to the AAA’s Procedures for the Resolution of Disputes through Document Submission, and for all other arbitrations the following procedure will apply: (i) the arbitrator will conduct hearings, if any, by teleconference or videoconference rather than by personal appearances, unless the arbitrator determines upon request by you or by us that an in-person hearing is appropriate; (ii) any in-person appearances will be held at a location which is reasonably convenient to both parties with due consideration of their ability to travel and other pertinent circumstances; and (iii) if the parties are unable to agree on a location, such determination should be made by the AAA or by the arbitrator.
9. If you or Athletes.org submits a dispute to arbitration and the arbitrator orders any exchange of information, you and Athletes.org agree to cooperate to seek from the arbitrator protection for any confidential, proprietary, trade secret, or otherwise sensitive information, documents, testimony, and/or other materials that might be exchanged or the subject of discovery in the arbitration. You and Athletes.org agree to seek such protection before any such information, documents, testimony, and/or materials are exchanged or otherwise become the subject of discovery in the arbitration.
10. The arbitrator’s decision will follow these Terms and will be final and binding. The arbitrator will have authority to award temporary, interim, or permanent injunctive relief or relief providing for specific performance of these Terms but only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the individual claim before the arbitrator. The award rendered by the arbitrator may be confirmed and enforced in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in these Terms will preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies and, if the law allows, they can seek relief against us for you.
11. The AAA Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings and the AAA Multiple Consumer Case Filing Fee Schedule will apply if twenty-five (25) or more similar claims are asserted against Athletes.org or against you by the same or coordinated counsel or are otherwise coordinated. In addition to the application of the AAA Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings and the AAA Multiple Consumer Case Filing Fee Schedule, you and Athletes.org understand and agree that when twenty-five (25) or more similar claims are asserted against Athletes.org or you by the same or coordinated counsel or are otherwise resolved, your or Athletes.org’s Claim might be delayed. For such coordinated actions, you and Athletes.org also agree to the following coordinated bellwether process. Counsel for the claimants and counsel for Athletes.org shall each select ten (10) cases (per side) to proceed first in individual arbitration proceedings as part of a bellwether process. The remaining cases shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any AAA fees be assessed in connection with those cases until they are selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of a bellwether process. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining cases after the conclusion of the initial twenty (20) proceedings, each side shall select another ten (10) cases (per side) to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of a second bellwether process. The remaining cases shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any AAA fees be assessed in connection with those cases until they are selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of a bellwether process. A single arbitrator shall preside over each case. Only one case may be assigned to each arbitrator as part of a bellwether process unless the parties agree otherwise. This staged process shall continue, consistent with the parameters identified above, until all the claims included in these coordinated filings, including your case, are adjudicated or otherwise resolved. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled for claims subject to this staged process from the time the first cases are selected for a bellwether process until the time your case is selected for a bellwether process, withdrawn, or otherwise resolved. A court shall have authority to enforce this paragraph and, if necessary, to enjoin the mass filing or prosecution of arbitration demands against Athletes.org or you.
12. One Year to Assert Claims. To the extent permitted by law, any Claim by you or Athletes.org relating in any way to these Terms, our Services, or any aspect of the relationship between you and Athletes.org as relates to these Terms or our Services, must be filed within one year after such Claim arises; otherwise, the Claim is permanently barred, which means that you and Athletes.org will not have the right to assert the Claim.
13. You have the right to opt out of binding arbitration within 30 days of the date you first accepted these Terms by providing us with notice of your decision to opt-out via email at admin@athletes.org or by certified mail addressed to Athletes.org, Inc., 3187 Overton Cove, Birmingham, AL 35223. In order to be effective, the opt-out notice must include your full name, mailing address, and email address. The notice must also clearly indicate your intent to opt out of binding arbitration. By opting out of binding arbitration, you are agreeing to resolve disputes in accordance with Section 14.
14. If any portion of this Section 13 is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, including but not limited to because it is found to be unconscionable, (i) the unenforceable or unlawful provision will be severed from these Terms; (ii) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision will have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of this Section 13 or the parties’ ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to this Section 13; and (iii) to the extent that any claims must therefore proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The litigation of those claims will be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration. Further, if any part of this Section 13 is found to prohibit an individual claim seeking public injunctive relief, that provision will have no effect to the extent such relief is allowed to be sought out of arbitration, and the remainder of this Section 13 will be enforceable.
15. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Terms, if you reside in any country outside of the United States, you may bring legal proceedings regarding the Terms either by following the arbitration procedure detailed above in this Section 13 of the Terms or, if given the right by applicable law, by submitting the dispute to an arbitration administrator in the jurisdiction in which you reside. To the extent any proceeding is not subject to arbitration under applicable law, you may submit the dispute to the courts of the jurisdiction in which you reside.
GOVERNING LAW: This Agreement and all rights and obligations of the parties will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Alabama in the United States of America without giving effect to any conflicts of law rules that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any dispute arising out of this Agreement (except for an action for injunctive relief) may be resolved by arbitration held in Jefferson County, Alabama, in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association then in effect, as provided in Section 13. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court jurisdiction. The parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction (non-arbitration) in the courts of the State of Alabama.
SEVERABILITY: If any portion of these Terms other than Section 13 is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, including but not limited to because it is found to be unconscionable, (a) the unenforceable or unlawful provision will be severed from these Terms; (b) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision will have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of these Terms; and (c) the unenforceable or unlawful provision may be revised to the extent required to render the Terms enforceable or valid, and the rights and responsibilities of the parties will be interpreted and enforced accordingly, so as to preserve the Terms and the intent of the Terms to the fullest possible extent.
MISCELLANEOUS: Athletes.org’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These Membership Terms and Conditions constitute the entire understanding between the parties with respect to Athletes.org membership and supersede all written or verbal agreements between the parties, including but not limited to all representations, warranties, statements, correspondence, purchase orders, and understandings with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. Athletes.org reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of these Membership Terms and Conditions at any time. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Use of the word “including” will be interpreted to mean “including without limitation.” Except as otherwise provided herein, these Terms are intended solely for the benefit of the parties and are not intended to confer third-party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity. Communications and transactions between us may be conducted electronically.