O'Bannon v NCAA

[java]

Dobbs, read my edit. I explained where I got my numbers.

 

[java]

The problem with paying athletes a stipend is you'll have to do it for all sports, including the non-revenue generating ones. The last girl on the women's rowing team gets the same allowance as the starting QB? How is that equitable?

Blame Title IX for this quandary. For every VY and JFF, there's 1000 guys that don't mean diddly to their athletic departments and/or boosters. Less than 2% of CFB players will ever see the field in the NFL, too.

These guys are supposed to be student-athletes. Let's not lose sight of that.

JB,

Title IX does complicate the issue and so are the lawsuits. If O'Bannon prevails and the judge goes with a stipend, rather than a totally unenforceable athlete commission of some sort, the article I linked suggested it would be several years before other sports become an issue.

Since the case is tied to revenue, football is the big revenue producer and basketball is next. That sounds like the reasoning, doesn't it? Women's rowing is a drain and simply an easy way to give out a large number of scholarships to women. File a lawsuit and get the program disbanded.

 

[texasdobbs]

Like I said I hope they throw the case out and if you want to get paid then graduate and get paid just like everyone else does...

But what do I know. ...

 

[Randolph Duke]

Like I said I hope they throw the case out and if you want to get paid then graduate and get paid just like everyone else does...

But what do I know. ...

Considering the trial has begun, I think the odds of a summary dismissal are low.

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

Considering the trial has begun, I think the odds of a summary dismissal are low.

How did the lawyers for the NCAA do today? 

 

[java]

Dobbs, you sound like someone who has earned their way, as I have. Unfortunately, the lawyers are involved now, and the only thing that is a certainty is that they will get paid.

 

[texasdobbs]

Look I have no say on the decision, but they better be careful for what they ask for... sometimes the entitlement comes with consequences. ... so we will see

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

Plonsky takes the stand at the O'Bannon trial.

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

 

[HornNdriftwood]

Federal appellate courts are usually pretty efficient. Even if it does get appealed, this is an anti-trust case. An appeal would have to be that the district court did not  properly apply the law. It will be an appeal that takes much less than a year to get settled. My guess is that even if it does get appealed, the appeal decision is rendered before the end of the college football bowl season. The only thing that could get protracted is the trial on damages owed the players for previous years. That trial would not stop a decision in favor of the players from being implemented and players immediately signing with agents and receiving cash. 

It looks like the judge will make her decision public in the next few days. But the appeals process will most likely drag on for another 1-2 yrs. - perhaps even 4-5 yrs. if taken all the way to the Supreme Court.

It will be interesting to see how the on-going reforms by the Power 5 conferences impact this case going forward.

In this article, Munson seems swayed by the opinions offered by the witnesses for the players but the bulk of the testimony by both sides was just that, opinions. My prediction is Judge Wilken goes with the trust fund idea for players whose "names, images and likenesses" actually produce income, which is a mere handful compared to the approximately 400,000 student-athletes on an NCAA scholarship every year. If the players are only paid after their NCAA eligibility is up, the collegiate  amateurism model could continue with only minor changes.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/11231638/answer-coming-shortly-ed-obannon-v-ncaa-trial

 

[java]

It looks like the judge will make her decision public in the next few days. But the appeals process will most likely drag on for another 1-2 yrs. - perhaps even 4-5 yrs. if taken all the way to the Supreme Court.

It will be interesting to see how the on-going reforms by the Power 5 conferences impact this case going forward.

In this article, Munson seems swayed by the opinions offered by the witnesses for the players but the bulk of the testimony by both sides was just that, opinions. My prediction is Judge Wilken goes with the trust fund idea for players whose "names, images and likenesses" actually produce income, which is a mere handful compared to the approximately 400,000 student-athletes on an NCAA scholarship every year. If the players are only paid after their NCAA eligibility is up, the collegiate  amateurism model could continue with only minor changes.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/11231638/answer-coming-shortly-ed-obannon-v-ncaa-trial

I read the twitter feed of the judge's questions and answers during the last day of the trial.  She appeared to be intrigued by the idea of the trust fund, to be divided equally among all the athletes in football and basketball, but only for names, images, and likenesses.  Those who testified regarding TV contracts brought up the fact that players never entered into those negotiations, not in the NCAA, NFL, or NBA.  

In addition, the NCAA attorney, specifically their out of house counsel, made some critical points in closing.  It appeared the plaintiffs couldn't define damages to the consumer, which is evidently critical in an antitrust case.

I expect some change, but I'm not expecting the devastating decision everyone was concerned about.  The NCAA needs to change, or the bigger programs should break away from it completely.  Other than the basketball tournament, what does the NCAA do to earn it's portion of the proceeds.  They bring in no ideas, enforcement is a joke, and they change with all of the expediency a slug.