Athletes Can't Reprise Hausfeld Win in NCAA Antitrust Case
While Michael Hausfeld presses for massive class action fees in California, a similar case over the use of college players' likenesses has fizzled in Tennessee.
June 05, 2015 at 12:28 PM
4 minute read
Siding with lawyers for ESPN Inc., major network broadcasters and other defendants, a Tennessee federal judge has shot down a proposed class action brought by former college athletes who said they were unfairly cut out of profits for broadcasts that used their names and likenesses.
In an opinion on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp in Nashville agreed to dismiss antitrust and other claims lodged by 10 former college football and basketball players, represented by Bone McAllester Norton. The ruling marks a win for lawyers at a gaggle of defense firms, including Cravath, Swaine & Moore (for ESPN and ABC Inc.), Weil, Gotshal & Manges (for CBS Broadcasting Inc.), Davis Polk & Wardwell and Davis Wright Tremaine (for NBCUniversal Media LLC) and Williams & Connolly (for Fox Broadcasting Co.).
The judge acknowledged that the top levels of college football and basketball in the U.S. are big business. He also noted that many consider the categorization of college athletes as “amateurs” to be a stretch, since their athletic performances “lead to untold riches for others, such as defendants.
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