A Bloomberg report said that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is set to comply on an agreement with Seattle lawyer Steve Berman regarding current safeguards and medical funds for college athletes who experience life-threatening sports injuries like concussions. Berman, who is known to have successfully brought class-action suits against big corporations like Big Tobacco, Enron Corp and Toyota Motor Corp, said that he will be making the settlement final at a court hearing on April 24.
The news agency said that the agreement Berman has been negotiating will include a medical monitoring fund for athletes who have suffered concussions in their college sports and an amended set of guidelines to prevent future college athletes to be sent out back to play if effects of the injuries still had an effect.
Bloomberg said that Berman's effort would make him a leader in the effort of rebalancing the relationship between the Indianapolis-based NCAA and its college athletes. It was noted that Berman's law firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, has also led the lawsuits that would increase the control of college athletes over their finances, including monies received for their likeness in video games without their permission.
Sports lawyer Jeff Kessler at Winston & Strawn LLP said about the legal efforts, "The courts are increasingly subjecting the NCAA to the same type of scrutiny that other enterprises and businesses are subject to. It's a big challenge for the NCAA and how it's going to develop."
In an emailed statement, NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy insisted that the sports league already has guidelines adequate enough to keep their athletes safe. Remy also added that the NCAA's provision for room, board, books, tuition and fees allows their college athletes to prioritize education more than playing professionally, and that allowing their athletes access to privileges that professionals enjoy would go against the sports league's education emphasis.
