Former players of the National Collegiate Athletic Association are reportedly challenging their amateur athlete status to be able to get a share in $800 million annual broadcast revenue the sports league has been racking up.
Bloomberg said that 1995 Final Four Most Outstanding Basketball Player Ed O'Bannon is set to provide his testimony today in the trial in Oakland, California. The outcome of the trial will determine whether the NCAA has to negotiate with players regarding their televised games appearances without the latter forfeiting their scholarships. The sports league has maintained its stance about the amateur model, and said that the model is not for the sake of providing the scholarships which land the athletes in the league in the first place, but to discourage competition among schools.
O'Bannon is suing on behalf of a class of former and current players who are seeking to negotiate licensing deals for the use of their images. According to the former NCAA athlete's lawyers, the lawsuit seeks to break up what they have labeled a price-fixing conspiracy happening in the NCAA, which had led to the league and member schools reaping the proceeds from the broadcast games. The lawyers had argued that college athletics is similar to professional sports, and the NCAA, universities, coaches and facilities get to pocket billions of dollars, leaving the hardworking players out. Bloomberg said that under NCAA regulations, athletes can be stripped off their scholarships and barred from playing in the league if they have accepted payment.
Quoting former NCAA director Walter Byers, attorney Michael Lehman, who represents the athletes, wrote in a court filing, "Whereas the NCAA defends its policies in the name of amateurism and level playing fields, they actually are a device to divert money. (The NCAA's approach to amateurism) is based on outdated romantic notions."
The now 41 year-old O'Bannon, who sells cars in Las Vegas, is reportedly seeking a court order that would declare the rules and the practices of the NCAA as a violation of federal antitrust laws. Bloomberg said US District Judge Claudia Wilken will decide the case without a jury, and that the trial is expected to last three weeks.
