Former UCLA Athlete takes Compensation Lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court

On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon Jr. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a lawsuit against the NCAA over compensation for the use of players’ images and likeness.

In 2009, O’Bannon filed a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of former NCAA athletes claiming that the NCAA’s policy of forbidding student sports players from receiving money for the use of their images is a violation of antitrust law and personal publicity rights. O’Bannon alleged that the NCAA used his …

March 7, 2016 Antitrust / Litigation / NCAA

The Big Leagues: NCAA Requests Extension to Appeal to SCOTUS Over Student-Athlete Compensation

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, the National Collegiate Athletic Association requested a 30-day extension to appeal from a Ninth Circuit ruling which held that the NCAA ban on compensation for the use of student athletes’ images and likenesses violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The litigation began in 2009 when former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and former ASU and University of Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller filed separate lawsuits against the NCAA, Electronic Arts Inc., and Collegiate Licensing Co. The original lawsuits claimed in part that …

December 17, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Athlete Compensation: Ninth Circuit Denies Plaintiffs Request for Rehearing En Banc

On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of appeals denied a rehearing request for its prior ruling in O’Bannon v. NCAA — the case involving the issue whether Division I student athletes should be compensated.

Ed O’Bannon, the named plaintiff representing student athletes, seemingly won at the trial court level. District Judge Claudia Wilken found the NCAA’s ban on compensating student athletes violates federal antitrust laws. Judge Wilken concluded that “less restrictive” means were available to preserve student athletes’ amateur status. She …

October 16, 2015 NCAA

NCAA Athlete Compensation: Student-Athletes File Petition for Rehearing

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, former student-athletes filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing en banc on its decision to uphold the rule that NCAA athletes do not need to be compensated beyond the cost of attending college.

The federal trial court originally held that: (1) universities may grant to student athletes the full cost of attendance; and (2) universities may allow student athletes to receive up to $5,000 per year as compensation for the use of their names and likenesses. On …

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 …

August 26, 2014 NCAA

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 …

August 21, 2014 NCAA

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 …

June 7, 2014 Antitrust / NCAA

NCAA Separation Order

The NCAA is currently facing two related antitrust lawsuits regarding their ban on student-athlete compensation. The first case, brought by former student-athlete and professional athlete Ed O’Bannon, is now set for trial on June 9, 2014. The second case, brought by former student-athlete Sam Keller, is set for March of 2015.

Ed O’Bannon brought his case in 2009, 10 years after his retirement, when he saw his name and likeness being broadcasted by the NCAA during a basketball tournament. O’Bannon is not seeking a monetary …

June 6, 2014 NCAA

NCAA Fights Consolidation in Anti-trust Scholarship Cases

The NCAA, facing legal battles on several fronts regarding student-athlete compensation, is fighting to keep multiple class action suits from being centralized.

Former student-athlete, Shawne Alston, filed a lawsuit in Oakland, CA, back in March, 2014, claiming the NCAA has violated federal anti-trust laws by fixing scholarship awards below the actual full cost of attendance. Many students, including Alston, need to take out loans in addition to their scholarships to cover their actual full cost of attendance because registration fees and other daily living expenses …