Former College Athletes Testify in NCAA Antitrust Trial

On September 7, 2018, three former college athletes, Shawne Alston, Martin Jenkins, and Justine Hartman, each testified that the NCAA “exploited them” by pushing them to prioritize athletics over academics. As we have previously reported, in this lawsuit a class of college athletes are attempting to challenge the existing NCAA amateurism rules and attempting to create an open market for various NCAA schools to compete for top college recruits.

Hartman, a former University of California basketball player, testified that the NCAA exploited her by …

Continue Reading

Sparks Fly on Day Two of the NCAA Antitrust Trial

On September 5, 2018, a Stanford University professor, Dr. Roger Noll, testified as an economist expert on behalf of the college athletes in the ongoing NCAA antitrust trial. Dr. Noll criticized the NCAA’s amateurism rules, claiming that college basketball and football is not a “fragile enterprise dependent on how much players get paid.” As we have previously reported, in this particular lawsuit, a class of college athletes are attempting to challenge the existing NCAA amateurism rules and attempting to create an open market for …

Continue Reading

NCAA Antitrust Trial Starts With a Bang

On September 4, 2018, University of San Francisco professor, Daniel Rascher, testified as an economist expert on behalf of the college athletes. In his testimony, Rascher likened the NCAA to an illegal “cartel” because to their habitual practice of limiting how much money college athletes could be paid. As we have previously reported, in this particular lawsuit, a class of college athletes are attempting to challenge the existing NCAA amateurism rules and attempting to create an open market for various NCAA schools to …

Continue Reading

NCAA Antitrust Bench Trial Set to Begin

On September 4, 2018, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken is set to preside over a bench trail between the NCAA and a group of college athletes who want an injunction placed on NCAA amateurism rules. This lawsuit, brought by a class of college athletes, came in the wake of the O’Bannon decision, where a court held that NCAA rules prohibiting college athlete’s ability to profit from their likenesses were anti-competitive. However, as we have previously reported, the final decision, in O’Bannon, held that …

Continue Reading

College Athletes Move to Force America East Conference Commissioner to Testify

On August 22, 2018, a class of college athletes filed a motion to compel the testimony of Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the NCAA America East Conference. According to the motion, the NCAA canceled Ms. Huchthausen’s deposition two days before she was scheduled to be deposed. The NCAA claimed that she was no longer going to be called as a witness at the upcoming college athlete’s compensation trail, a stark contrast to their previous statements.

As we have previously reported, a class of college athletes …

Continue Reading

O’Bannon Evidence to be Used by both Litigants in NCAA Antitrust Trial

In a controversial move, U.S. District Judge Wilken has announced that, in the antitrust action brought by student athletes against the NCAA, she will admit evidence from the O’Bannon case, despite objections from both litigants.

In the case at hand, the athletes are pursuing claims that the NCAA illegally restrains their income potential by prohibiting pay beyond the students’ scholarship. Judge Wilken’s statement permitting the use of O’Bannon evidence will allow the NCAA in to use O’Bannon’s expert testimony for impeachment purposes, and will also …

Continue Reading

UFC Moves for Summary Judgment in Antitrust Class Action

On July 30, Zuffa LLC—parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”)—moved for summary judgment, requesting the dismissal of an antitrust suit filed against them by a proposed class of mixed martial arts (“MMA”) fighters. While the MMA fighters allege that the UFC engaged in anti-competitive practices to dominate the MMA industry and restrict fighters’ wages, the UFC counters that there is no evidence of such activity, instead contending that fighters’ wages are increasing.

The action was originally filed in 2014 by fighters Cung …

Continue Reading

NCAA Asks Ninth Circuit to Adhere to Seventh Circuit Ruling

On June 29, 2018, in a letter, lawyers representing the NCAA asked the Ninth Circuit to adhere to the Seventh Circuit’ recent decision and not revive a proposed wage-and-hour class action lawsuit brought by former NCAA football player, Lamar Dawson. The lawyer’s asked the Ninth Circuit to adhere to the June 25, 2018 Seventh Circuit ruling that upheld the NCAA’s controversial “year-in-residence rule.” The rule mandates that if a student athlete transfers from a division one institution to another division one institution, they are …

Continue Reading

NCAA’s ‘Year in Residence’ Rule Here To Stay

The Sports Law Insider has previously reported on the NCAA’s attempt to modernize their transfer rules. The NCAA has transitioned into a notification based system in which student athletes no longer have to receive permission from their current schools to transfer. Instead, they  enter their name into a national database that then notifies their current school of their decision to leave. However, the NCAA did allow individual conferences to install more stringent regulations if they wished. The Sports Law Insider then reported on the Athletic …

Continue Reading

SCOTUS Declines Opportunity to Reconsider MLB Antitrust Exemption

Major League Baseball’s immunity from antitrust violations under the Sherman Act has been called an “anomaly.” It has also been consistently upheld by courts since 1922, when it was unanimously affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States. The exemption was codified by Congress in the Curt Flood Act of 1998, maintaining an exemption for MLB and its clubs when conducting the “business of baseball” and providing more freedom to players seeking free agency and salary arbitration.

Despite striking out with lower courts, two …

Continue Reading