The USOC has asked a federal judge to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit filed by runner Nick Symmonds’ company, Run Gum, over advertising restrictions at the upcoming U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials. In a 23-page motion filed Friday in the U.S. District Court in Oregon, the USOC’s lawyers said the '78 Amateur Sports Act grants it an implied antitrust immunity. The law gives the USOC broad, exclusive rights to fund and organize the U.S. Olympic team. "At its heart, the complaint challenges the United States Olympic Committee’s control over the Olympic brand in the United States,” the motion reads. It goes on to note rulings from several prior legal challenges in which judges interpreted the act as giving the USOC wide latitude. Symmonds and his lawyers from Hausfeld LLP, which won the O’Bannon v. NCAA antitrust suit, in January filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on on-uniform advertisements at the Olympic Trials, saying it unlawfully restrained athletes’ ability to do business with non-official sponsors. The USOC argued Friday that Symmonds’ suit falls short on antitrust grounds, because there is no contract or agreement that unfairly limits Run Gum. The Trials advertising rules are merely a single entity’s standards for competition, not a conspiracy to shut out Run Gum, the USOC argued. Furthermore, the USOC claims Run Gum has many other equivalent advertising opportunities. Hausfeld partner and Run Gum lawyer Sathya Gosselin declined to comment.
CADDIE LAWSUIT PROVIDES SUPPORT: The USOC drew on several key sports lawsuits to mount its defense, including one from earlier this month. On Feb. 9, a judge dismissed Hicks v. PGA Tour, a high-profile lawsuit by pro golf caddies that claimed the Tour was violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by banning ads on caddie bibs during televised Tour stops. In that case, the judge ruled that the restriction does not violate the law because bib advertising is not sufficiently distinct from other marketing methods available to potential sponsors. The USOC also relied on a similar ruling in a '99 adidas challenge to NCAA apparel rules, and Right Field Rooftops v. Chicago Baseball Holdings in '15 (in which a judge ruled the Cubs could not monopolize their own product.)
USOC LOOKS TO NFL ANTITRUST EXPERTS: The Run Gum lawsuit drew notice in part because of Hausfeld’s involvement, fresh off that firm’s landmark victory against the NCAA in the O’Bannon case. The USOC’s team also includes Covington & Burling Partner Derek Ludwin, Covington associate Alexander Ramey and Portland, Ore. litigator Bruce Campbell. Ludwin has represented the NFL in several antitrust actions, including the Sunday Ticket series of cases and the American Needle lawsuit.
