The NCAA lost its fight to dismiss a class action lawsuit headed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon. It will require the organization to open its books and records related to certain of its commercial enterprises, according to the Associated Press.
O'Bannon's suit was brought as a result of the use by the NCAA of its former student athletes' names, faces and images for profit and gain in merchandising and broadcast deals such as DVD's video games and memorabilia..forever.
It's the part about forever that at the heart of O'Bannon's complaint. He is now 37 and a salesman in Nevada but 15 years ago he starred on the UCLA basketball team that won the national title.
Rather than try to win the right of players currently in school to receive compensation, his suit wisely limited its case to graduates. It demands that the NCAA either cease making money by using graduates in its licensing deals or pay them.
It will be up to a court or an agreed upon settlement to determine if O'Bannon's claim wins the day, but right now the NCAA has to face the daunting task of providing massive amounts of what it considers sensitive financial information related to its commercial enterprises.
According to reports of the court decision, O'Bannon saw a friend playing a video game that featured the 1995 championship team and he was faced with the question about why he wasn't getting a cut of the considerable revenue that the NCAA earns from that and other similar programs.
The NCAA claims it has permission based on the agreement of the athletes when they accept scholarship money to attend college.
Guess who's advice was sought by O'Bannon? That thorn in the side of the NCAA, one Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro was helpful to the family of Brandon Jennings when the high school grad skipped college in the U.S. and found work in Italy for a year prior to entering the NBA draft
Vaccaro who hates the NBA's age restriction also detests the profit made off the use of student athletes in the NCAA's billion dollar commercial ventures. According to the AP, it was Vaccaro who got O'Bannon to the law firm that is the lead on the case.
Talk about being humbled, well the NCAA just got a dose of that and in a big way. To be continued...
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