Another Concussion Related Headache for NCAA and SEC

Yet another former football player has been added to the long list of former students suing the NCAA for its alleged negligent treatment of concussions. On June 8, 2016, Orenthal James Owens, a defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers (2000-2003), filed an action in Indiana federal court claiming that the NCAA and SEC exposed him to the debilitating effects of concussions by turning a blind eye.

During his time with the Volunteers, Owens remembers blacking out and suffering from memory loss following repeated blows …

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NCAA Power Conferences Refuse to Share Documents

On June 13, 2016, a group of student-athletes locked in an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA called out several major collegiate athletic conferences for their reluctance to share documents concerning lucrative television contracts. They claim several conferences have failed to produce essential documents during a discovery dispute which began in March of this year. According to the student-athletes, the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast conferences have refused to even discuss document requests.

The student-athletes, whose class action lawsuits have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation in …

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NCAA Uses New Supreme Court Ruling to Threaten Student-Athlete’s Lawsuit Against Transfer Rules

In the opinion of the NCAA, a student-athlete has no standing to allege that the NCAA’s bylaws unfairly prevent student-athletes from transferring schools. In a notice filed to an Indiana federal court on June 3, 2016, the NCAA argues that the recent Supreme Court decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins prevents student-athletes from using the Clayton Act to give rise to an anti-trust cause of action against the NCAA unless they can provide an actual, concrete harm caused by their bylaw.

In his complaint, …

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Student-Athletes Challenging the NCAA’s ‘Grant-in-Aid’ Rules Seek to Continue Lawsuit By Distancing Themselves from O’Bannon

On May 31, 2016, student-athletes fighting NCAA bylaws which prevent compensation beyond the cost of attending college filed an opposition to the NCAA’s bid for judgement on the pleadings of their anti-trust claims. The key element of their opposition is that they are raising claims wholly different from the landmark O’Bannon v. NCAA case which had a momentous ruling in late 2015. By arguing that the issues are different from the O’Bannon case they stop the court from dismissing the case to prevent re-litigating …

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O’Bannon and Former Student-Athletes Continue Pursuit of Supreme Court Review

On May 26, 2016, former NCAA student-athletes, led by former basketball player Ed O’Bannon, filed a reply brief further urging the Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s reversal of compensation for the NCAA’s use of student-athletes’ image and likeness. The student-athletes’ contend that the NCAA misconstrued Supreme Court precedent to justify using amateurism as an excuse for its anti-competitive rules which violate federal anti-trust law.

This request to the Supreme Court was the result of a recent Ninth Circuit decision which found the NCAA …

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Ole Miss Accepts Responsibility for NCAA Violations, Self-Imposes Penalties

On Friday, May 27, 2016, the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) officially accepted responsibility for NCAA violations involving the college’s football, women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s track and field programs. The violations include recruiting violations, furnishing “impermissible benefits,” such as loaning vehicles to athletes and giving cash to athletes and their families, and awarding fraudulent academic credit to student-athletes. The original NCAA notice sent to Ole Miss included 28 rule violations; 16 rule violations were classified as Level I “severe breach of conduct” offenses.…

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Class Action Suit From College Athletes Against Fantasy Sports Continues in Federal Court

On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, former NCAA athletes moved their lawsuit against major fantasy sports sites FanDuel and Draftkings to Indiana federal court. The lawsuit was initiated earlier this month when a group of former athletes sued FanDuel and Draftkings over the unauthorized use of the players’ names and likeness for fantasy sports betting. The class action alleges that the fantasy sports sites used the players’ names and likenesses to promote fantasy college sports contests for which they charged fees and generated about $3 billion.…

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A Marathon, Not a Sprint: NCAA Concussion Settlement Revised Again

A long awaited settlement for NCAA concussion litigation has been revised, once again. The NCAA released the proposal in an effort to address shortfalls in previous settlement plans. The revised settlement, if approved by the court, provides injured student-athletes the option to sue their individual colleges, but only on behalf of players of a single sport. Additionally, the proposal removes a provision that would allow the administrator handling medical monitoring claims to pursue reimbursement from former athletes’ private insurers. The NCAA and lead plaintiffs …

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NCAA Victory: Order to Post $42 Million Bond Lifted

On Friday, May 23, 2016, California U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled in favor of the NCAA’s fee bond appeal, granting the organization’s request to not post bond while it appeals the O’Bannon decision. The NCAA filed the fee bond appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court on May 10, 2016, arguing that it was unnecessary to reserve more than $42 million in attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the O’Bannon case.

The NCAA claimed that the fee bond would place undue detriment on the organization, …

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Student-Athlete Pay Cap Claims Return, NCAA Seeks Shelter Under O’Bannon Ruling

The NCAA is seeking to remove multidistrict litigation antitrust claims relating to the organization’s rules regarding student-athlete compensation. Currently, the NCAA maintains that college athletics is a form of competitive amateurism. The NCAA’s unwillingness to pay student-athletes compensation beyond the cost of attendance is based in the belief that college sports are hobbies played by amateur athletes. On Monday, May 18, 2016, the NCAA claimed that the issue of student-athlete compensation has already been litigated in the O’Bannon case ruling (2015).

Previously, in a …

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