Gord Kirke

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 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. 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".

2001 to present In 2001, Kirke co-founded KSR Sports Representatives Incorporated, and began working as an agent for professional athletes. He described his work by saying, "as a player agent, you touch on almost every discipline or area of law you can think of: contracts, anti-trust, judicial reviews, arbitration/mediation, dissemination, immigration, tax laws, criminal — you name it". Through KSR, he represented 45 National Hockey League (NHL) players, of whom Lindros was the first. Kirke later represented Mike Modano and Rick Nash. The contract which Kirke negotiated on behalf of Nash in 2002, was the most lucrative contract for an NHL rookie at the time, valued at US$1.2 million per season plus bonuses and incentives from 8 to 12 million. Kirke let his license as a player lapse in 2005. He became the first Canadian director of the Sports Lawyers Association of America, and later served as its first Canadian president. Also in 2008, Kirke helped mediate negotiations between the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Copyright Music & Visuals regarding The Hockey Theme, a theme song used during Hockey Night in Canada since 1968, composed by Dolores Claman.

Kirke has regularly appeared in media as a commentator on Off the Record with Michael Landsberg on The Sports Network, and Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio with Bob McCown. He also represented Olympic athletes Donovan Bailey, Elfi Schlegel, and Tara Teigan. and appeared on the same list three times total.

Pat Gillick from the Blue Jays said of Kirke that, "his style kind of stood out a little bit. Gordie has kind of a low-key style, so he puts pressure on people without the people knowing that pressure had been put on them". Canadian radio personality Bob McCown observed of Kirke, "You are in the ego business. You’re dealing with enormous egos. He has no mood swings I am aware of. He's always light-hearted and joking and never makes anything out to be World War Three. With him it never gets personal. But you always feel he is not your enemy, even on the other side of the table. And that is clearly his greatest asset".

Personal life Kirke was married with two children, and resided in Rosedale, Toronto, as of 2006. He has served as a volunteer director for charitable organizations including, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, Children's Aid Society, Easter Seals, Prostate Cancer Canada, Scarborough Distress Centre, Scarborough Health Network, Special Olympics, and Tennis Canada. He also went to Kandahar with the Canada men's national ice hockey team to provide entertainment to Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.