As a college student, I dreamed of becoming a sportswriter, a career that would serve as a diversion from the daily stress of the news. Eventually, I settled on law as a profession, and discovered that the world of sports rarely intersects with the world of law. There remain times, however, when sports intrude into the legal arena and offer valuable lessons for attorneys.

None perhaps more than what I call “L’Affaire Colangelo,” the recent social media-based soap opera involving Bryan Colangelo, who is now the former-president of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers professional basketball team. Colangelo’s story offers many lessons for attorneys, none more important than its reminder that lawyers and their staff should never share confidential client information with family members or others because such “unguarded talk” can lead to serious consequences, often very serious consequences.