NCAA Argues Against Class Certification in Scholarship Cap Litigation

On Thursday April 30, the NCAA and a group of the major conferences argued against class certification in the scholarship cap lawsuits, trying to deny their consolidation into one class-action.

The lawsuits, brought by former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston and former Clemson football player Martin Jenkins, claim antitrust violations resulting from the current rules the NCAA imposes on the amount in scholarship aid that schools may offer their student-athletes. The players argue that rules against aid in excess of the cost of …

April 20, 2015 Concussions / NCAA

New Settlement Proposal Made in NCAA Concussion Lawsuit

On April 14^th, the NCAA filed a new proposed $75 million settlement deal to resolve the class-action concussion lawsuit filed against it. The lawsuit resulted from the consolidation of several cases after former student athletes sued the organization for downplaying and/or neglecting to inform them of the long-term, life altering risk and consequences of sports-related head injuries.

The revised proposal was submitted to address deficiencies in the prior settlement deal that federal judge John Z. Lee rejected last December. In essence, the core …

April 3, 2015 Fraud / NCAA

UNC & NCAA Seek Dismissal of Academic Fraud Claims

On Monday, March 30, both the University of North Carolina and the NCAA filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit they’re facing brought by two former student-athletes for failing to provide them a meaningful education.

The lawsuit, filed in January, stems from the highly publicized academic fraud scandal where it was shown that the University of North Carolina had been offering “paper classes” to boost grades. These classes required very little work, lacked academic integrity, and provided failing student athletes the grade boost necessary to …

February 13, 2015 Defamation / NCAA

NCAA to Disclose Documents Related to Former USC Coach’s Defamation Action

A California appeals court denied on Friday the NCAA’s attempt to seal hundreds of documents in connection with a defamation suit brought by a former University of Southern California (USC) assistant football coach Todd McNair who was sanctioned for his part in the Reggie Bush scandal.

Previously, the trial court blocked the NCAA’s bid to seal hundreds of pages of internal emails and other documents in the lawsuit where McNair asserted breach of contract and defamation claims among others.

Although the NCAA argued disclosing the …

February 12, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Urges Court to Toss Student-Athletes’ Sexual Discrimination Claims

The NCAA filed a motion to dismiss the sexual discrimination action brought against it by former soccer players at Kean University, citing the action is time barred and the complaint contained no specific discrimination allegation by the NCAA.

The motion argued that Shannon Pedersen, Emily Cristaldi, and Jaclyn Janicky failed to specifically allege that the association discriminated female athletes differently when it sent a notice informing the university of a possible rule violation by the school in 2011. Additionally, several claims stated in the original …

February 11, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Says Athletes Counsel Overcharged It for Attorney Fees

The NCAA wants more than 80% discount on the bill presented by the lawyers who represented the student-athlete plaintiffs in the O’Bannon case pursuant to a judgment in that case.

In a court filing, the NCAA argued that since the court’s decision in the O’Bannon case was a “limited success” as it only allowed players to share licensing revenue but awarded no damages, $9.1 million was more reasonable than the plaintiffs lawyers’ demand of $51 million. Further, it accused the plaintiffs legal team …

February 2, 2015 Antitrust / NCAA

District Judge Recuses Herself from NCAA Antitrust Lawsuit

On Thursday, January 29, a federal court judge for the Southern District of Indiana recused herself at the plaintiffs’ request from an NCAA antitrust case as she currently serves as a Butler University trustee.

John Rock, a former Gardner-Webb football player who lost his scholarship, filed this lawsuit in 2012 attacking the NCAA’s scholarship cap and one-year scholarship policy. Rock seeks damages and a ruling from the court that requires all Division 1 universities to offer multiyear scholarships to stop the NCAA from “artificially reducing” …

January 31, 2015 NCAA

In-Depth Look: ex-UNC Athletes Sue for the Education They Were Denied

On Thursday, January 22, two more former student-athletes filed a lawsuit against both the University of North Carolina and the NCAA, claiming the institutions failed to safeguard and provide scholarship student-athletes with a meaningful education, directly attacking the ‘amateurism’ model the NCAA uses to defend its rules against student-athlete compensation.

The lawsuit filed is the second of its type stemming from the scandal exposed by the release of the Wainstein Report last October. The report, investigated and written by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein, largely …

January 27, 2015 NCAA

O’Bannon Plaintiffs Urge 9th Circuit to Affirm Pay-Rule Ban

On January 23, O’Bannon Plaintiffs filed a response to NCAA’s appellate brief that asked the Ninth Circuit to reverse the lower court’s decision allowing student-athletes to be paid.

In a 851-page long filing, the plaintiffs argued that the a limited compensation to $5,000 for every year of academic eligibility pursuant to the court’s decision is “such modest payment” to jeopardize NCAA’s policy on amateurism, a concept that has evolved and eroded admittedly by NCAA. Further, the plaintiffs stressed that because the injunction was not mandatory, …

January 20, 2015 Legislation / NBA / NCAA

Christie and the Horsemen Ask the Third Circuit to Vacate Injunction & Open the Door to Sports Betting in NJ

On Wednesday, January 14, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie filed a brief with the Third Circuit US Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn the district court decision enjoining recent legislation that would open the door to some sports gambling in New Jersey.

The 2014 law in question was passed to effectuate a partial repeal of prior New Jersey law that prohibits betting on sports within the state. The partial repeal would allow casinos and racetracks within the State of New Jersey to facilitate sports betting. …