What is the current state of the law on liability for negligent conduct in sports?

"As a general rule, persons have a duty to use due care to avoid injury to others, and may be held liable if their careless conduct injures another person. [Citation.] Thus, for example, a property owner ordinarily is required to use due care to eliminate dangerous conditions on his or her property. [Citation.] In the sports setting, however, conditions or conduct that otherwise might be viewed as dangerous often are an integral part of the sport itself." (Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296, 315.) "In this respect, the nature of a sport is highly relevant in defining the duty of care owed by the particular defendant." (Ibid.) "Although defendants generally have no legal duty to eliminate (or protect a plaintiff against) risks inherent in the sport itself, it is well established that defendants generally do have a duty to use due care not to increase the risks to a participant over and above those inherent in the sport." (Id. at pp. 315-316.) "In some situations, however, the careless conduct of others is treated as an 'inherent risk' of a sport, thus barring recovery by the plaintiff." (Id. at p. 316.) "[R]esolution of the question of the defendant's liability in such cases turns on whether the defendant had a legal duty to avoid such conduct or to protect the plaintiff against a particular risk of harm. As already noted, the nature of a defendant's duty in the sports context depends heavily on the nature of the sport itself. Additionally, the scope of the legal duty owed by a defendant frequently will also depend on the defendant's role in, or relationship to, the sport." (Id. at pp. 316-317.)