Goldberger to Receive NASO Medallion Award
March 23, 2011 — Alan Goldberger, a sports law attorney and recognized legal authority for game officials, has been named by the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) as its 2011 Mel Narol Medallion Award recipient.
Goldberger, Millburn, N.J., a longtime supporter of and legal consultant to NASO, will receive the award Aug. 2 during the Celebrate Officiating Gala at the annual NASO Sports Officiating Summit. The Summit will be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel.
Goldberger, a partner at Brown Moskowitz and Kallen, P.C., will become the 10th recipient of the Medallion. T
he award recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of NASO. Contributions might include, but are not limited to, organizational leadership, education and training and promotion of officiating.
"Al Goldberger is special," NASO President Barry Mano said. "He has merged his passion for officiating with his expertise in the law. That merger uniquely positions him to provide the officiating community advice and assistance in an area that has become increasingly important to us."
"When I got the news from Barry, I thought maybe I was dreaming," Goldberger said. "It completely bowled me over. I am surprised and very honored."
Goldberger said his interest in assisting NASO was born out of his own interest in officiating and in the law.
"When I got out of law school, there weren't too many officials who were lawyers, at least in New Jersey," he recalled.
Serving on the board of his local officials association, Goldberger was asked to provide legal counsel for the association. He came to the attention of NASO after he authored several law-related columns for Referee magazine and published the first edition of Sports Officiating: A Legal Guide. In the years since, his contributions to NASO have included serving as legal representative to the Member Information and Consultation Program, frequent speaker at NASO Summits and authoring of articles for NASO, NASO-ON and Referee magazine.
The second edition of his legal guide, considered the most comprehensive resource for officiating leaders, administrators and active sports officials, was published by Referee in 2007.
He is a former baseball, football and basketball official.
"I can say without equivocation that over the past 20 years, Al has given back to officiating as much or more than anyone," Mano declared. "He is the leading legal advocate for all officials. He has worked tirelessly in support of NASO and its members. He richly deserves the Mel Narol Medallion Award."
The Medallion Award is named after Mel Narol, longtime officiating legal advocate and NASO leader. Narol received the award posthumously in 2003 and the award was then renamed to honor Narol.
Previous recipients have been Jerry Seeman, retired NFL senior director of officiating; Fox 40 International, makers of the Fox 40 whistle; Dick Honig, owner of Honig's Whistle Stop; Marcy Weston, retired national coordinator of NCAA women's basketball officiating; Bill Kolbe, retired attorney, business and legal advisor for NASO; Ed T. Rush, retired NBA referee and supervisor of officials; Ronnie Carter, retired executive director for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association; and David Dodge, retired NCAA Division I men's basketball official.