Sports Thread #1 For 2/9/10: The NCAA Is Not A Happy Organization Today
A case that is unsurprisingly going by the ears of ESPN (unless Outside the lines picks up on it) is an important court decision that the cartel that is the NCAA feels very angry about. It happened just yesterday U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken denied the NCAA’s request Monday to dismiss a 2009 class-action lawsuit led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon over the use of former players’ likenesses in everything from video games to memorabilia to television rebroadcasts. And here are the possible ramifications In green-lighting the case, O’Bannon’s attorneys can now begin the discovery process that may unlock how the business operates, which could have impact beyond this case. O’Bannon is one of several former athletes arguing that his one-year scholarship agreements never granted the NCAA use of his name and likeness in perpetuity. The backdrop of this case is when O'Bannon noticed the NCAA had emulated his facial features and playing characteristics when watch...