Current Law Event
The title of the Article: NCAA Pay Case Nears Ruling by Zusha Elinson and Rachel Bachman.
Facts: The main issue about this case is the use of athletes’ images by NCAA in a production of video games and for television. According to NCAA, athletes received scholarships and hence they lost rights to other benefits accrued on their behalf through the NCAA (Elinson & Bachman, Para 3).
Opinions: The affected athletes perceive that they have rights to enjoy some of the benefits from the business and hence demand a share of the revenue from the NCAA and its partners. NCAA, on the other hand, felt that they are not denying the athletes their rights. However, amateurism rules restrict athletes from profiting from their fame beyond the basic scholarship agreement. Partners to NCAA such as EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Co. felt that NCAA is in the wrong, went ahead, and breached contractual and fiduciary duties in the production of videogames.
Issues: According to Elinson & Bachman (5), both teams have broken some of the antitrust issues. Lawyers for the athletes fight over the fixed price that the NCAA conspires with its business partners to fix on every athlete’s image. Lawyers for NCAA fight over barring claims for the athletes including claims over underlying broadcast rights. The Court is obliged to strike down payments to the athletes since the amateurism rules restrict athletes from profiting from their fame beyond the basic scholarship agreement (Tracy & Strauss, Para 4). A successful suit is to force NCAA to change its business approach in future and cut players in on burgeoning TV- rights deals (Elinson & Bachman, Para 7). NCAA rules limited players from receiving compensation since the athletic scholarships had been granted and prohibited athletics from profiting in other ways. NCAA sued EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Co. for breaching contractual and fiduciary duties as its partners in the production of videogames.
Decisions: I feel that the Videogame maker EA Sports together with other partners should willingly compensate the players for the uncertified use of their images in doing business. This is because the images have greatly profited NCAA.
Discussion Questions: Questions that arise over this case include:
- What should the partners to NCAA do in the event that they are to face legal charges for breaching of rights o the athletics?
- How is NCAA to build up its trust once more after conclusion of the suit?
- What modalities should be used to compensate future players whose images have been used and are bound by the amateurism rules?
Works Cited
Elinson Zusha & Bachman Rachel. “NCAA Pay Case Nears Ruling.” Wall Street Journal. 2014 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303636404579395423359916090
Tracy Marc, & Strauss Ben. “Court Strikes down payments to College Athletes.” The New York
Times. 2015, 30th September.