The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today "upheld a lower court ruling that NCAA rules limiting what athletes can receive while playing sports violate antitrust laws," though the three-judge panel "threw out a plan that would have allowed schools to provide deferred athletes compensation of as much as $5,000 per year," according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. The panel wrote, "The NCAA is not above the antitrust laws, and courts cannot and must not shy away from requiring the NCAA to play by the Sherman Act’s rules. In this case, the NCAA’s rules have been more restrictive than necessary to maintain its tradition of amateurism in support of the college sports market. The Rule of Reason requires that the NCAA permit its schools to provide up to the cost of attendance to their student athletes. It does not require more" (USATODAY.com, 9/30). CBSSPORTS.com's Jon Solomon notes Chief Judge Sidney Thomas "concurred in part and dissented in part with the opinion," as he disagreed with the majority's conclusion that Judge Claudia Wilken erred in ordering the NCAA to permit up to $5,000 in deferred payment for use of athletes' names, images and likenesses (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/30). In N.Y., Marc Tracy reports a "separate proposed class action" filed by attorney Jeffrey Kessler, which "experts see as a far bigger threat to the college sports status quo, seeks to establish a free market for top college athletes." A class certification hearing on that case is scheduled for tomorrow (NYTIMES.com, 9/30).
