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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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Northwestern and CAPA File Opposing Reply Briefs With NLRB

In an attempt to have a regional director’s decision that Northwestern University football players are employees, the school filed a reply brief with the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) explaining that its relationship to the student athletes is not economic.

Previously, the regional director Peter Sung Ohr found that under the National Labor Relations Act, the athletes receiving scholarships were “employees” and could vote to unionize.  In response, Northwestern  argued that since the school is not “in the business of football,” no “economic relationship” is …

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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 …

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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 …

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University of California Sued for Wrongful Death of Football Player Ted Agu

On Tuesday, August 5, the family of former University of California football player, Ted Agu, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university claiming negligence in the Agu’s sudden death earlier this year.

After offseason training drills in February, Ted Agu was taken by University of California medical staff to Alta Bates Medical Center as he exhibited signs of extreme fatigue.  There, Agu was pronounced dead.  The coroner’s report released in April stated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the cause of death.  His family and attorneys, however, …

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NCAA Reaches Settlement, Offering Rule Changes to Concussion Class-Action Plaintiffs

On Tuesday, the NCAA filed a proposed settlement in the US District Court of Chicago to potentially end the class-action head-trauma lawsuit.  The preliminary settlement will create a $70 million fund for diagnosing current and former college athletes for brain trauma and other head related injuries.  The NCAA is currently awaiting approval by Judge John Z. Lee.

The proposed deal also sets up a new and uniform return-to-play policy, treatment requirements, and protocol for athletes who sustain head injuries.  The fund will be made available …

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