Leagues Respond to New Jersey Sports Betting

On Monday, September 29, four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA (“Leagues”) challenged New Jersey’s latest attempt to offer legal sports gambling within the state. The Leagues filing is in response to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s directive to allow casinos and racetracks to offer sports wagering so long as it is not state-regulated.

The Leagues argue that Governor Christie’s directive conflicts with the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which bans individual sports gambling in all but four states. Governor Christie …

September 27, 2014 Litigation / NCAA

Ninth Circuit Takes NCAA’s Appeal of the O’Bannon Case in Expedited Manner

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear the NCAA’s appeal of the O’Bannon case in a speedy manner after the parties filed a joint motion last week to expedite the schedule for briefs and oral arguments so that they have a decision before the permanent injunction by Judge Claudia Wilken becomes effective on August 1, 2015.

Typically, the Ninth Circuit does not schedule appeals before all briefs are filed. Originally, the NCAA was to submit its opening brief by November 28, and the …

September 10, 2014 Antitrust / NCAA

NCAA Using the O’Bannon Decision to Have Two Other Similar Suits Dismissed

While the NCAA is appealing the O’Bannon decision by Judge Claudia Wilken, it is using Judge Wilken’s ruling in that case as the reason why she should dismiss two other scholarship suits before her.

One lawsuit was brought by several former men’s and women’s basketball players in 11 conferences as well as football players, including former West Virginia running back Shawne Alston. The other suit covered players in men’s basketball and football, including Clemson football player Martin Jenkins.

In the O’Bannon case, Judge Wilken had …

September 1, 2014 Concussions / NCAA

Another Headache for the NCAA Concussion Litigation

Once again, the NCAA has found itself at the forefront of concussion-related litigation. A Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge granted a motion to compel the NCAA president, Mark Emmert, to be deposed in a lawsuit over the death of a college athlete.

In 2011, the parents of a Frostburg State University (Frostburg) football player filed suit when their 22 year-old son, Derek Sheely, died after sustaining several concussions during preseason football training. The wrongful-death suit accused the football coach of conducting “gladiatorial” high-speed …

August 26, 2014 NCAA

NCAA Appeals O’Bannon Decision

On Wednesday August 20, the NCAA filed the much anticipated notice of appeal from the judgment and order of Judge Claudia Wilken, which granted a permanent injunction on the NCAA’s ban of student athlete compensation.

Judge Wilken entered the order on August 8 in favor of the O’Bannon plaintiffs, ruling that the NCAA is in violation of antitrust laws by prohibiting the member schools from offering student-athletes a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses.

Chief legal …

August 21, 2014 NCAA

Injunction on NCAA Player Compensation Set for August 1, 2015

Tuesday, August 19, the terms of the recent Order lifting the NCAA’s ban on student-athlete compensation was clarified and set in motion.

The O’Bannon plaintiffs and the NCAA filed a joint stipulation last week asking for Judge Claudia Wilken to clarify her order in terms of when the ban on player compensation was to kick in. The parties at first disagreed over whether any students currently enrolled would be eligible for student-athlete pay in the future, however the disagreement was resolved.

The parties’ stipulation designates …

August 19, 2014 NCAA

O’Bannon Plaintiffs & NCAA Ask Judge to Set Timetable for Athlete Pay

On Thursday, August 14, the O’Bannon plaintiffs and the NCAA filed a joint submission to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California seeking clarification of Judge Claudia Wilken’s injunction on the NCAA’s ban of player compensation.

The two parties to the lawsuit have come to an agreement over when the injunction should take place. Judge Wilken’s original ruling left the results somewhat ambiguous, and the current joint submission was submitted to clarify. The parties’ submitted a proposed order designating the injunction …

August 14, 2014 NCAA

O’Bannon Case: NCAA Urges For Court’s Clarification

In the wake of last week’s O’Bannon ruling, the NCAA has requested for clarification of the court’s injunction. Judge Claudia Wilken wrote that the injunction would not be applicable to student-athletes enrolled in college before July 1, 2016 or after the next recruiting cycle.

The next recruiting cycle, however, focuses on student-athletes first entering in Fall 2016. Further, new recruits may receive offer letters as early as August 1, 2015, the first day colleges can offer scholarships to their recruits in the 2016-17 class …

August 11, 2014 NCAA

O’Bannon Case: Judge Found NCAA “Unreasonably Restrain[ed] Trade”

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in her decision wrote “The evidence . . . demonstrates that student-athletes themselves are harmed by the price-fixing agreement.” Having found that the NCAA has violated antitrust laws, Judge Wilken issued an injunction prohibiting the NCAA “from enforcing any rules or bylaws that would prohibit its member schools and conferences from offering their FBS football or Division I basketball recruits a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses in addition to a …

August 9, 2014 NCAA

NCAA BIG 5 Granted Rights to Self-Regulation

On Thursday, August 7, the NCAA Division I board of directors voted in favor of allowing the Big 5 conferences to make some of their own rules. This vote comes amid a wave of national criticism of the NCAA’s strict adherence to potentially outdated rules. Primarily the NCAA has received criticism over its refusal to share its billions in revenue with the student-athletes who help generate it.

The Big 5 conferences, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, and Pac 12, will now have broader authority …