Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany took the stand in the O’Bannon trial. Appeared as a witness for the NCAA, Delany reiterated the NCAA’s argument that paying student-athletes goes against the league’s principle. However, he seemed to have gone too far when he said, “when the basketball season is over, we probably ought to just put a lock on the gym. If [the players] want to play they should just go to a playground and go play, but they don’t need to be with our coaches for a month or three weeks. … I’d like to see us carve out areas, because I don’t think the [current time demands] allow for enough of those types of experiences.” Many including the plaintiffs’ attorney viewed his testimony helpful for his clients.
“He provided all the information that we wanted to bring out in cross-examination (in the direct examination),” said Bill Isaacson, one of the plaintiffs’ attorney.
During the cross-examination, Delany was presented with a copy of a “telecast rights agreement” between the Big Ten and a TV network. The contract contained a provision requiring the Big Ten to provide all clearances for players’ names, images and likenesses. In addition, the plaintiffs’ attorney showed a form that athletes sign to release the rights to their names, images, and likenesses. The plaintiffs’ point was that while claiming student athletes are amateurs, the NCAA, conferences and schools run a lucrative business monetizing on student-athletes names, images, and likeness, rights to which the league requires the players to give up. Delany was dismissive, saying that
“ [the contract’s provision on athletes’ names, images, and likeness is] apparently boilerplate . . . . I’m assuming these types of clauses are lawyers anticipating lawyers.”
Delany has been a proponent of various reforms in the league, focusing on finding the balance between athletics and academics for student-athletes and giving them opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities. His vision indirectly reflects what the league is not and supports what a former NCAA player testified previously: “It felt like we were an athlete first, a student second.”
O’Bannon trial: In defending NCAA, Jim Delany also helps plaintiffs
Big Ten commissioner testifies his conference, Rose Bowl might not exist if players are paid