Recent scrutiny of athlete-founded charities has sparked renewed public conversation around nonprofit governance, compliance, and oversight. In a recent USA Today article by Jason Wolf, Andrew Morton, partner at Handler Law, shared insight into why these challenges arise and how they can be avoided.

As Morton explains, the issue is rarely a lack of good intentions. Many athletes are deeply committed to philanthropy, often responding quickly to opportunities to give back while managing demanding professional careers. What’s frequently missing is the expert infrastructure required to operate a nonprofit responsibly and sustainably.

Athletes, Morton emphasized, should not be expected to be experts in nonprofit law or governance. Their role is to perform at the highest level in their sport. The responsibility for ensuring compliance and protecting reputations often lies with the advisors and organizations in their inner circle, including agents, lawyers, accountants and business managers.

With decades of experience advising professional athletes, entertainers, and other public figures, Morton emphasizes that nonprofit organizations are subject to the same regulatory, compliance and reporting standards as other corporate entities. Without proper guidance, even well-meaning charities can face reputational risk, regulatory scrutiny and operational inefficiencies.

Morton points to a simple but often overlooked solution: involve the right professionals from the outset. Nonprofit attorneys, accountants and governance advisors help ensure organizations are structured properly, funds are used as intended and public trust is protected.

The goal is to allow athletes to focus on what they do best; while their charitable efforts are supported by a team that understands the legal and operational landscape.

At Handler Law, Morton chairs the firm’s Sports & Entertainment Philanthropy practice and has advised more than 200 charitable foundations connected to athletes and public figures. His work focuses on helping clients build compliant, sustainable philanthropic organizations that allow them to give back responsibly while protecting their public trust.

To learn more about this issue and Andrew Morton’s perspective, read the full series of articles by Jason Wolf on AZ Central – USA Today Network.