NCAA motion to dismiss Ed O’Bannon lawsuit is denied
The Ed O'Bannon lawsuit is marching on.
On Friday, a judge denied the NCAA's request to dismiss the suit, an antitrust lawsuit led by the former UCLA basketball player that says the NCAA profited off of the likenesses of its athletes while the players didn't receive any compensation.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken said that a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that the NCAA has relied upon to preserve its amateurism system "does not stand for the sweeping proposition that student-athletes must be barred, both during their college years and forever thereafter, from receiving any monetary compensation for the commercial use of their names, images, and likenesses. Although it is possible that the NCAA's ban on student-athlete pay serves some procompetitive purpose, such as increasing consumer demand for college sports, Plaintiffs' plausible allegations to the contrary must be accepted as true at the pleading stage."
The lawsuit could also become a class-action lawsuit. Ruling on that matter is pending.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit reached a deal with EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company for approximately $40 million that was announced shortly after EA had announced that the NCAA Football 14 video game would be the last college football game produced for the foreseeable future at least. If and when the settlement is approved, the NCAA would be the only defendant left in the case.
In the college football game, players are referred to by default as only their jersey number, however they are given attributes resembling their real-life skills and user-created roster files with every NCAA players' name in them had become available within days of each game's annual release.
- - - - - - -
is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @NickBromberg
